Three youths were arrested on Monday in connection with the abduction of 11-year-old Abhisekh Kumar Shaw outside his school in Bhowanipore on Saturday.

Manas Dey of Padmapukur, Laltu Kumar Jha of Chakraberia and Subodh Maity of Park Street, held at three undisclosed locations in the city, had plotted and carried out the kidnapping, said police.

A fourth member of the gang is absconding.

The gang knew that the boy’s father Brojbihari, a security guard, had recently purchased land, and was sure that he would be able to pay the ransom. Abhisekh returned home on Sunday afternoon after the ransom was paid.

The boy’s detailed description of his abductors helped the cops to make the arrests and recover Rs 8,000.

According to the police, one of the youths offered the boy a ride on his motorcycle outside Adarsha Hindi Vidya Mandir. The youth told Abhisekh that he owed Rs 600 to Brojbihari and was going to their Kalighat home to return the amount.

“Another youth joined them nearby. The two took the child to a house in Naktala, where the boy was put up for the night. On Sunday morning, the boy was shifted to a house in Gariahat,” said deputy commissioner (south) Rajesh Subarno.

The Shaws started receiving ransom calls from Saturday. The next day, they started negotiating with the kidnappers. Sources said the ransom amount was fixed at Rs 40,000 and the money changed hands near Santragachhi railway station in the afternoon.

Within minutes, Abhisekh was released from the Gariahat house. Manas put the boy on a bus and paid his fare.

“We need time to interrogate the trio and find out why they targeted the boy. It could well be that they were practising before attempting a bigger crime,” said one of the officers probing the case.

“We could have intervened earlier but were waiting for the boy to return home,” added the officer.