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A 22-year-old Indian with a taste for the high-life unsuccessfully staged his own kidnapping at the weekend, demanding 40,000 dollars from his father to fund a trip to Macau, reports said Tuesday.
His bungled attempt landed him in jail rather than in the Chinese gambling resort when he was caught red-handed picking up the ransom at a New Delhi shopping mall.
"His girlfriend wanted to celebrate the New Year's Eve in Macau," a senior police officer in New Delhi told the Hindustan Times (HT) daily on Tuesday. "He wanted to fulfil her wish but was not able to bear the expenses."
Pawan Verma had run up debts of 850,000 rupees (18,000 dollars), the HT and Times of India newspapers reported, owing to a lifestyle that made him a regular at plush bars in the capital.
Police said Verma's father, a local businessman who owns two shops, would decide if he wanted to press charges.
"If the father, who is a complainant in the case, decides to withdraw the complaint, the son can walk free with the orders of the court," the police officer said.
