A Class VIII student of Rajkumar College was kidnapped on Monday morning when he was on his way to school after parking his car at Rajkot Gymkhana Club located nearby.

The police said that eyewitnesses saw some men kidnapping 15-year-old Rajdeepsinh Zala, son of estate dealer Manoharsinh Zala— a resident of posh Jankalyan Society, in a blue Maruti van around 7 am. Within minutes of the kidnapping, Manoharsinh received a ransom call for Rs 50 lakh.

The police immediately began an investigation based on two clues- the phone number from which the ransom call was made and the Maruti van- and soon located the vehicle near Sikka.

“The information that a blue Maruti van having a blank number plate and its location with the help of the cell phone signal helped the police trace the four-wheeler near Sikka,” said |Commissioner of Police Sudhir Sinha.

When the kidnappers got a hint that a police team was following them, they dropped the boy near a hotel on the highway and proceeded towards Dhrol, where they were arrested, police said

“Harish Chotalia, Anand Khoja and Rakesh Khoja have been arrested from Jamnagar highway near Dhrol town. The victim, Rajdeepsinh Zala, who was dropped by the kidnappers at a highway hotel, was found minutes before their arrest,” Sinha said, adding that the police were looking for the main conspirator— Sahil Khoja.