A person lodged a complaint on Sunday claiming his son has gone missing (Representational)

A woman, her son and daughter have been arrested for allegedly kidnapping a three-year-old boy for ransom in outer Delhi's Bawana, police said on Monday.

The arrested accused, residents of Daryapur Kalan, disclosed that their modus operandi was inspired by a crime show episode, they said.

A person lodged a complaint on Sunday, claiming his son has gone missing from near his house, police said.

Scanning through the CCTV footage of the area, the police noticed a suspicious vehicle near the spot, they said.

"It surfaced during investigation that the woman's son, who used to reside in the same locality as the kidnapped boy, was the owner of the vehicle. He was arrested," said Gaurav Sharma, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer North).

The boy was kidnapped for ransom and confined to the new rented accommodation of the accused in Daryapur village.

The accused man said his father passed away last year and he needed money to meet the wedding expense of his sister, police said.

He planned to kidnap his neighbour's son and shared the plot with his mother and sister but they refused. However, when the engagement of her sister annulled last month over lack of money, they too supported the kidnap plan, they said.

The accused man offered the boy a fruit juice while he was playing outside his house and took him to their new rented accommodation, the DCP said.

The accused made several calls to the complainant and demanded Rs 75 lakh as ransom, police added.