The accused have been identified as Rahul Mishra (24), Shubham Mishra (19) and Gaurav (22), they said.
Rahul was an employee of the victim's father and had been fired by him recently. He wanted to exact revenge from his former employer and planned the 3-year-old's abduction after taking inspiration from Hollywood movies, police said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Omvir Singh said the police were informed about the incident on December 22.
The police had formed 16 teams to trace the boy.
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"The teams had combed through Akshardham, Yamuna Bank and East Vinod Nagar areas. We then got inputs about the culprits' movements. When we closed in on them, they gave up the child near CWG village," Singh said.
The child was rescued but the accused fled the spot, the officer said.
Rahul is a graduate from the Delhi University's School Of Open Learning (SOL), while Gaurav is a first-year student there, police added.