Police rescued a businessman within 12 hours of his abduction and arrested two suspects. Three more suspects are at large, and police are trying to trace them.
Vikas Bohra, who runs a furniture shop in Akkipet with his father Mahendra Kumar, was abducted on Sunday evening for a ransom of Rs 1 crore in cash and 15 kg of gold.
The gang had called Bohra to Uttarahalli on the pretext of discussing a business proposition and kidnapped him.
A special police team rescued the businessman 12 hours later, said Laxman B Nimbargi, Deputy Commissioner of Police (West).
The abduction was masterminded by Harjeet Banu, who runs a pharmaceutical company and had bought furniture from Bohra’s shop some time ago and had kept in touch, police said.
Harjeet, a native of West Bengal, had suffered losses in business and is also an accused in a cheating case to the tune of Rs 5 crore. He decided to kidnap Bohra to solve his financial problems.
He roped in his employee Anand Kumar G, a resident of Haleguddadahalli, to kidnap Bohra and later signed up Azhar Pasha of Goripalya, Tanveer and another man.
As per the plan, Harjeet hired a woman to call Bohra on the pretext of discussing business. She introduced herself as Kavya and told Bohra she wanted to order furniture.
Prompted by her repeated phone calls, Bohra left home around 4.30 pm on Sunday, informing his father that he was heading to a business meeting. He told his father about the woman and her repeated phone calls.
The gang abducted Bohra soon after he reached Uttarahalli and called up his father at 7.30 pm to tell him about the abduction. When Mahendra asked to speak to his son, the caller hung up.
Mahendra handed the caller’s phone number to his brother-in-law Manoj and made him call the kidnapper. Manoj called the number, and the kidnapper demanded a ransom to release Bohra.
Mahendra approached the Vijayanagar police. The DCP formed a special team, drawing officers from different police stations, to trace the gang.
Police soon learnt that the abductors were near Malavalli, Mandya district, and rushed there. They made Mahendra call the kidnapper and ask where he should give the money. He was given an address in Malavalli.
Police in plainclothes travelled there with Mahendra and caught Anand and Pasha, who had come to collect the money. Police freed Bohra around 5.30 am on Monday from another location where he had been confined.