20-Year-Old Faked His Own Kidnapping And Raised Hell In 3 States, Just To Avoid Giving Exams

As news of 20-year-old John Antony Thuppayath's alleged kidnap spread far and wide, people began sharing pictures of him on their social media profiles, seeking information of his whereabouts, praying for his safety.

YouTube

The first-year Bachelor of Arts student pursuing history, economics, and political science sent an SOS saying he had been kidnapped by unidentified miscreants on January 19, the day his semester exams began. The incident purportedly took place around 9 am when John left his flat in SG Palya and was en route to college.

Following his sudden disappearance, the victim managed to SMS his mother and one of his flatmates through a website used to send free texts, informing them he had been 'kidnapped in a silver van' and that he was 'badly wounded' after being 'tortured and not given any food' in an undisclosed location. He also claimed the kidnappers were demanding an unspecified lumpsum to free him.

The boy's father, Sunil Antony Thuppayath, is a reputed builder who runs his own construction firm in Kollam, Kerala, while his mother works as a civil engineer.

Naturally, John's distraught parents flew down to Bengaluru after his disappearance and a kidnap complaint was lodged with the South East division police on January 21. It took the cops nearly 72 hours to trace the boy to Chennai, but when they did, it emerged John had scripted and acted in his own kidnap drama.

Police found John had plotted the entire story because he had a drastic shortage of attendance in college, and he did not want to take his exams.

The messages sent by John made police suspect the truth was something else, but they filed a case of kidnap on his parents' insistence and started a search for the boy.

"John's mobile phone records revealed he had made calls to several BPO firms seeking jobs in the days leading up to his disappearance. We also traced the messages sent to his mother and friend to his personal laptop. By now, we were certain he would be shacked up at a hotel and in need of money, so we made his parents remit money to his account," a senior police officer told Mirror.

Finding the money being withdrawn from an ATM kiosk in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, a police team left for Madurai along with his parents last Saturday. On seeing his parents and the policemen, John suddenly claimed he had been 'released' there by the 'kidnappers' but was unsure of their identities.

"Upon persistent questioning, he confessed to faking the entire episode. The college authorities told us he had not attended a majority of classes in November and December. He was afraid of the repercussions since the university is very particular about attendance and exams. We also suspect there may be another reason, but that is being investigated," the officer added.

After he was traced, John's parents took him home to Kerala, but were reminded that since a criminal case had already been registered, it was up to the court to take a decision.

Meanwhile, his friends put up posts online informing everyone that he was safe and sound.

Speaking to Mirror on condition of anonymity, one of his friends claimed John was very disturbed following the 'kidnap' and was seeking psychiatric help.

When this correspondent informed them the boy had faked his kidnap, his friend expressed shock and said, "John's behaviour was always normal, and he was pretty good academically. We are really worried that the reason behind this whole episode is something else."

Repeated attempts to speak to his parents failed as both their phones were switched off.

Will John pay a price for con game?

Deputy Commissioner of Police (South East) Dr M B Boralingaiah confirmed to Mirror that the student had faked his own kidnapping and said, "Mico Layout police inspector and his men had to work round-the-clock for three days to trace him. Preliminary investigations revealed he had not attended classes, which could have led him to enact this drama. The student has taken the police department for a ride, and we will have to see what action to initiate against him."