Delhi Police have said no ransom call to the victim’s parents was made till 10 am. Delhi Police have said no ransom call to the victim’s parents was made till 10 am.

A school bus ferrying 14 children was targeted Thursday by two men, who barged inside brandishing guns, shot the driver in the leg and kidnapped a five-year-old boy. According to police, the two men arrived on a motorcycle and entered the bus, taking children to school, around 7.50 am in Shahdara.

The incident took place less than 100 metres from the GTB Enclave police station — and on a day when police deployment was up because of Republic Day, the ASEAN summit, and apprehensions of anti-Padmaavat protests.

The bus was picking up children from a bus stop at the time it was intercepted, police said.

“Minutes after the bus halted, two men parked their black-coloured bike nearby and entered the bus. Both of them kept their helmets on. They asked the driver about the details of a particular boy, and when he refused to share details, one of them pointed the gun at a woman attendant sitting in the front seat,” a police officer said.

Read | Delhi kidnapping case: Girl says she saw two men giving chase, thought of alerting attendant

At the crime spot, Thursday. Praveen Khanna At the crime spot, Thursday. Praveen Khanna

Police said the woman attendant was questioned at gunpoint, and she eventually pointed to a boy sitting alongside his sister on the last seat. “One of the assailants went and grabbed the boy from his seat. When his sister tried to intervene and held his hand, he pointed the gun at her. One of them also fired at the driver, shooting him on his thigh. The two then fled towards Uttar Pradesh with the boy,” an officer said, adding that child was wearing a fancy dress to participate in a school event, and was not carrying his identification card at the time.

As soon as the kidnappers left, the woman attendant informed school authorities, who approached Delhi Police. “Police rushed to the spot and took the driver to GTB Hospital, from where he was referred to Safdarjung Hospital,” the officer said, adding that “we are probing the role of insiders as the kidnappers knew the child’s route, and only kidnapped him and not the sister.”

Police also said the boy’s parents have not received a ransom call so far. Meanwhile, relatives of the boy staged a protest, blocking the road for a while.

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