Wrong spelling in ransom note helps police crack staged kidnapping in Uttar Pradesh’s Hardoi

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Wrong spelling in a ransom note helped police crack a staged kidnapping in which a man tried to con his elder brother with a ₹50,000 demand, officials said on Wednesday (January 8, 2025).

The incident came to light on January 5 when Sanjay Kumar, a contractor from Bandaraha village in Hardoi district, told police that he received a ransom note from an unknown number demanding ₹5,000 for releasing his brother Sandeep (27) who was “kidnapped”.

The note said if he failed to pay the amount, it would result in “deth” of his brother. Mr. Kumar also received a 13-second video clip in which his brother could be seen tied with a rope.

Superintendent of Police (SP), Neeraj Kumar Jadaun, said the wrong spelling of death in the ransom note — spelled as “deth” — gave clue that the person behind the act was not much educated.

“Suspicion grew as Mr. Kumar did not have enmity with anyone, nor was the ransom amount that big,” the SP said.

“Tracking his mobile phone location, police traced Mr. Sandeep to Rupapur. During interrogation, police asked him to jot down a ransom note of his kidnapping, in which he again spelt death as ‘deth’,” the officer said.

Later, he confessed to staging his own abduction, saying he got the idea of extracting money from his brother after watching ‘CID’, a popular crime serial, the SP said.

Mr. Sandeep worked at a cane purchase centre in Mirzapur, and recently his bike hit an elderly person in Sahabad on December 30, fracturing his leg. He needed money as the other party was demanding compensation from him, the officer said, adding that the accused has been arrested.