“As Naveen did not return with the boy for long, Sridhar and his wife made futile attempts to reach him over the phone several times. He then called up the realtor and threatened to kill his son, if he did not give Rs 12 lakh,” police said. On receiving a complaint, the Thudiyalur police tracked the phone call from Naveen to be from near Bhavani in Erode and shared information with cops in Bhavani station.

Acting swiftly, the Erode police nabbed the accused by tracking the car’s registration number. The boy was rescued and handed over to his parents. Further inquiries are on.