Kidnapped Victim Rescued by Pimpri Chinchwad Police; Three Arrested for Demanding Rs 1 Crore Ransom
Reported By Varad Bhatkhande
Pimpri Chinchwad, 21st October 2024: A person who was kidnapped for a ransom of Rs 1 crore has been rescued by the Pimpri Chinchwad Police. The victim was taken to a secluded island on the border of West Bengal and Jharkhand, and three individuals have also been arrested. The Pimpri Chinchwad Police received assistance from the local police in Jharkhand and West Bengal. The kidnapping occurred on 17th October in the Hinjawadi area.
The operation to rescue the victim was carried out by the Anti-Extortion Squad and the Industry Cell. The arrested individuals are Naseem Manirul Haq Akhtar (age 20, resident of Malda, West Bengal), Lallu Rustam Shaikh (age 45, resident of Sahebjan, Jharkhand), and Sajeem Karim Bablu Shaikh (age 20, resident of Malda, West Bengal). A case has been registered against them under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 140(2) (kidnapping or abducting for murder or ransom), 142 (wrongfully concealing or keeping in confinement a kidnapped or abducted person), and 308 (extortion) at the Hinjawadi Police Station.
According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sandeep Doiphode, on 17th October, the complainant’s father went missing from home, and the complainant received a call from individuals demanding a ransom of Rs 1 crore, stating that the father had been kidnapped. The kidnappers threatened to kill him if the ransom was not paid. The case was transferred to the Anti-Extortion Squad and Industry Cell of Pimpri Chinchwad Police Commissionerate’s (PCPC) Crime Branch, and a team was formed with instructions to solve the crime quickly.
During the investigation, it was discovered that the kidnapped person had been taken by aeroplane to Kolkata by a coconut water seller from the area. CCTV footage from Pune International Airport was checked, and information about the suspects was gathered. Further investigation revealed that additional people were involved, and through technical analysis, their details were also identified. A Crime Branch team, led by Police Sub Inspector Sunil Bhadane, was dispatched to West Bengal and Jharkhand to search for the abducted person.
Meanwhile, the kidnappers called the complainant from the victim’s phone, demanding immediate payment of Rs 1 lakh, and threatening to kill him if not pay. They instructed the complainant to gather the money within a few hours and said they would provide the location to deliver it later. The kidnappers eventually called, asking for the money to be brought to Pune Railway Station. The complainant had been receiving extortion calls for several days.
The Pimpri Chinchwad Police coordinated with the Superintendents of Police in Malda (West Bengal) and Sahibganj (Jharkhand) for assistance. After a thorough investigation, the whereabouts of the accused were traced to the West Bengal-Jharkhand border. Police raided the location, arresting Akhtar and Shaikh. Upon further investigation and interrogation, it was revealed that the third accused was in Kalyan. Five mobile phones worth Rs 70,000 were confiscated from the accused, and the abducted person was safely rescued.
This operation was conducted under the guidance of Pimpri Chinchwad Commissioner of Police Vinoy Kumar Choubey, Joint Commissioner of Police Dr Shashikant Mahavarkar, Additional Commissioner of Police Vasant Pardeshi, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sandeep Doiphode, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime 1) Dr Vishal Hire, and Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime 2) Balasaheb Kopner.
The team, led by Senior Police Inspectors Devendra Chavan and Sandeep Sawant, included Police Sub Inspectors Sunil Bhadane, Ashok Jagtap, and Ramdas Mohite; Assistant Police Sub Inspector Ramesh Gaikwad; and Police Constables Sunil Kangude, Kiran Katkar, Pradeep Godambe, Kishore Kamble, Mangesh Jadhav, Ashish Bautke, Bhupendra Choudhary, Prashant Said, Sukhdev Gavande, Amar Rane, Nagesh Mail, and Popat Hulge. All personnel were from the Anti-Extortion Squad, Industry Cell, Crime Branch Unit 4, Anti-Gunda Squad and the Investigation and Prosecution Assistant Cells of PCPC.
