Sleuths suspect 12-year-old Mohammad Irfan had been “lured” to the spot from where he was kidnapped by a friend.

Mohammad Junaid, 12, and his elder brother, also named Mohammad Irfan, have been arrested for acting as “local accomplices” of the gang that abducted the Howrah boy last Saturday.

Irfan, whose father runs a dyeing unit at their home in Bankra, was rescued from a house in Metiabruz late on Monday. Hours after he had disappeared, his family received a call saying the boy would be set free for a ransom of Rs 30 lakh. On Monday afternoon, by which time the family had received 15 calls from the kidnappers, the demand was lowered to Rs 10 lakh.

There was no confirmation yet whether any money had changed hands to secure the boy’s release.

An officer investigating the case said: “Irfan and Junaid live in the same locality and were close friends. Junaid knew Irfan loved colourful fish and had an aquarium. On Saturday afternoon, he had asked Irfan to accompany him to a Domjur shop, around 2km from their locality, that sold colourful fish.”

Irfan went home to ask father Hazi Abdul Aziz for money but he was not at home. Junaid then offered to gift the the fish to Irfan.

“The two then set out for Domjur on foot. Irfan was kidnapped from a spot close to the shop. Junaid’s brother, an unemployed youth, was a party to the conspiracy,” the officer said.

Junaid told the people who had gathered on the spot that he would run home and report the incident to Irfan’s parents. Be he allegedly kept mum.

Cops said Mazharul Haq, the driver of the taxi (WB04A 4972) in which Irfan was whisked away from Domjur, “surrendered” at Domjur police station on Tuesday.

Haq, a resident of Metiabruz, is learnt to have told the police that the abductors had forced him to do their bidding.

“Haq has identified Junaid as the boy accompanying Irfan when he was picked up,” said an officer.

Bimal Naskar, a carpenter who witnessed the abduction, said: “When the two boys were 50 metres from the shop, a taxi screeched to a halt blocking their way. Two of the three men in the car got off and dragged Irfan in. I tried to intervene but one of kidnappers kicked me in the stomach.”

Sukhen Sen, the additional superintendent of police in Howrah, said: “We have identified everyone involved with the crime. Most are from Metiabruz and Kidderpore.”