Representative image of a police officer.
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A 26-year-old man from Bihar has been arrested by the police for allegedly staging his own kidnapping with two accomplices to extort money from his employer.
The suspects have been identified as Noorulla Hassan, Abubakar, and Ali Razak, all aged 26. Hassan worked in the buffing and polishing section of a private factory near RT Nagar, run by the complainant, Mohammad Asif Habib.
Hassan had been employed at the factory for eight years and had earned the trust of his employer, who covered his basic expenses.
On September 26, around 10.30 pm, Habib received a call from Hassan, claiming he had been kidnapped. Subsequent calls from Habib to the same number went unanswered, with the phone appearing to be switched off.
Habib reported Hassan as missing at the RT Nagar police station. However, his phone continued to buzz every hour, as Hassan repeatedly demanded a ransom of Rs 2 lakh for his release from the alleged kidnappers.
Growing suspicious, Habib informed the police about the calls from Hassan. The police took swift action and traced the source of the calls to Mandya, where they arrested the three suspects with assistance of the local police.
No proof of kidnap
During the investigation, Hassan continued to assert his abduction story. However, his claims didn’t align with the evidence gathered.
“They tried hard to convince us about their fabricated story of being kidnapped. However, their story didn’t add up to what our investigation revealed,” the officer said.
According to the officer, Hassan initially claimed that an unidentified gang had intercepted him near Dinnur Main Road and forced him into a car before transporting him to Mandya.
“We examined multiple CCTV footage, which clearly showed that Hassan had parked his two-wheeler on Dinnur Main Road by himself, moved a little further, and left his slippers there before walking with his friend. We subjected him to intense questioning, which eventually led him to confess,” the officer explained.
The Bihar plan
The gang had planned to extort money from Hassan’s employer and then relocate to Bihar, where they intended to start their own venture and turn a profit, according to the police.