No matter how perfectly a criminal plans a crime, he/she can always leave behind evidence or some kind of lead which can be found. For instance, the police caught a robber with the help of his DNA left after he slammed his face on the door. In a recent incident from Hanoi, Uttar Pradesh, a criminal’s poor spelling and language skills landed him in jail.
As per a report in The Tribune, a man named Ram Pratap Singh kidnapped an 8-year old boy near his grandmother’s place. He later ended up murdering the child, and on the same day, sent a ransom message to the boy’s father through a stolen phone. He demanded Rs. 2 lakhs for the child’s release, said Hardoi Superintendent of Police Anurag Vats.
In the ransom text, he wrote: “Do lakh rupay Seeta-Pur lekar pahuchiye. Pulish ko nahi batana nahi to hatya kar denge (Reach Sitapur with Rs 2 lakh. Don’t inform the police or your son will be murdered).”
The SP explained what happened next, “When the boy’s family lodged a missing complaint, we swiftly formed teams to trace the kidnapped boy. We called back on the mobile phone number but it was switched off. The cyber-surveillance cell was roped in and we detained a person in whose name the SIM was issued. But he seemed illiterate and unable to write SMSes. He said his phone had been stolen.”
DNA India reports that 10 suspects were picked up by the police on the basis of cues from the CCTV footage and some tip-offs, including Ram Pratap Singh.
Police asked all of the suspects to write the same line- “Main police main bharti hona chahta hoon. Main Hardoi se Sitapur daud kar ja sakta hoon (I want a police job. I can run from Hardoi to Sitapur).”
Ram Pratap fell for the bait and spelt ‘police’ as “pulish” and ‘Sitapur’ as “Seeta-Pur”, exactly like he had done in the ransom message. He was subsequently arrested, and later even admitted to the crime, Zee News reports.
We are absolutely in awe of the police’s detective skills. What do you think of their clever tactic to nab the killer? Tell us!