Bengaluru, Sep 15 (DHNS): A 19-year-old son of an income tax officer is said to have been kidnapped by a gang that is demanding a ransom of Rs 50 lakh for his release.

Police suspect it to be a case of revenge kidnap and the I-T officer's adversaries could be behind it.

Sharath N, a polytechnic student, was kidnapped on Wednesday. He is the son of Niranjan, a senior I-T officer from Ullal, Kengeri.

Sharath left home around 6.30 pm on Wednesday to meet his friends to give them sweets for receiving a Royal Enfield Classic 350 motorbike as a gift. An hour later, he spoke to his mother over the phone and everything was normal. But when his family tried calling him up two hours later, he was untraceable, his uncle Chandrashekar said.

Sharath's parents got worried but still waited for his return. Around 9.45 pm, they sent him a message that if he doesn't return the call, they were going to file a police complaint that he had gone missing. Twenty minutes later, his parents and sister received a video message from his phone number.

Sharath said in the video: "Hello Appa, people who suffered because of you have kidnapped me. They want Rs 50 lakh and they are torturing me a lot. Please arrange the money as soon as possible at any cost."

He continued: "The kidnappers have a wide reach and have been following my sister. They have a lot of information about her. Please arrange the ransom at the earliest and save me and our family."

Chandrashekhar said: "After the video, we concluded that he has been kidnapped. At 10.30 pm, we filed a complaint at the Jnanabharathi police station."

The family didn't get any other message and suspect someone known to them.

Police said they were tracking Sharath's mobile phone besides checking the call detail record. The Jnanabharathi and Chandra Layout police are jointly investigating the case.