LUCKNOW, Oct. 26 -- A 17-year-old NEET aspirant allegedly staged his own kidnapping and demanded Rs.5 lakh from his father to repay debts incurred through online gaming and betting, police said on Sunday. A native of Hardoi, the teenager was preparing for the medical entrance examination at a private coaching institute in Alambagh and lived in rented accommodation in Para. According to DCP (West) Jitendra Srivastava, he went missing around 9.40 pm on October 20. After failing to trace him, his family searched for him, and his mother lodged a missing-person complaint at Para police station on October 23. The teenager allegedly posed as a kidnapper, sending WhatsApp messages to his father and relatives demanding Rs.5 lakh as ransom. When the money could not be arranged, he reportedly called his father and threatened that his son would be killed. Para police station in-charge Suresh Singh initiated an investigation based on electronic evidence. The teenager was traced and recovered safely, police said. The probe revealed that he had allegedly incurred debts of around Rs.50,000 after losing money in online gaming and betting. htc...