A constable posted in Banda district jail allegedly demanded a ransom of Rs 1 crore from a local farmer, threatening to kidnap his son. He also fired shots to intimidate the farmer.

The incident came to light when the farmer lodged a report with the Jaith police.

Ramkumar, a farmer from Maghera village under Jaith police station of Banda, had recently finalised the sale deal of his farmland for Rs 2.5 crore. Ajit Gautam, a constable posted at Banda jail, learned of this transaction and he took a four-day leave and visited Ramkumar’s farm on August 5. He demanded Rs 1 crore as ransom and threatened to abduct Ramkumar’s son if the demand was not met. To intimidate Ramkumar, Ajit also fired shots. The frightened farmer stayed indoors for two days.

On August 7, Ramkumar went to Jaith police station and informed Station Officer Ashwani Kumar of the extortion attempt. Taking the matter seriously, the police formed a team and began an investigation. On Sunday night, the police arrested Ajit Gautam at Maghera crossing and seized a firearm and five cartridges from him. During interrogation, Ajit admitted to the ransom demand.

Station Officer Ashwani Kumar confirmed that Ajit Gautam was a constable at Banda jail, saying he would be sent to jail.

Further investigation revealed that Ajit had planned to kidnap Ramkumar’s son, Anuj, and had called three accomplices to Maghera for this purpose. However, these accomplices were arrested by the police in Chhatarpur, Madhya Pradesh. The Chhatarpur police have confirmed the arrests, and further information about the criminals is being gathered.

Meanwhile in Sonbhadra, a 5-year-old missing boy’s body was found in a pond on Monday morning.

Reports said that Golu, the five-year-old son of Om Prakash, had wandered approximately 400 metres away from his home to the vicinity of a pond. It is believed that he slipped and fell into the water.

When the family realised that Golu was missing, they began searching for him and eventually reported his disappearance to the Karma police. The police arrived at the scene and began a search but were initially unable to locate the child. On Monday morning, the family members found the boy’s body floating in the pond and informed the police about it.

The body was sent for post-mortem.