Varthur Prakash wasn't abducted for ransom: Police

There’s a twist in the abduction case filed by former MLA Varthur Prakash. It was not a case of abduction for ransom, as Prakash claimed, but something else, police say.

Kolar police believe Prakash was abducted by a gang hired by a moneylender whom he owed more than Rs 5 crore for 1,000 head of cattle that he had purchased when he was a minister.

Prakash, who represented the Kolar assembly constituency, had purchased cattle for Rs 50,000 each from a man in Pune. But he never paid. The seller started demanding the money along with interest and reportedly threatened him.

On December 1, Prakash claimed in Bengaluru that a gang had abducted him and his chauffeur from Jangalahalli Road, Kolar district, on November 25. The gang demanded Rs 30 crore in ransom but set them free three days later after he arranged Rs 48 lakh through a friend named Nayaz, he said, adding that the gang pushed him and his driver out of their car after they both lost consciousness.

Prakash’s allegations created a sensation but police soon discovered that there was more to it than meets the eye. Police have several doubts.

Firstly, Prakash hasn’t filed a police complaint even six days after his release. Secondly, he’s changing his statements, which amounts to misleading the investigation. It’s evident that he knows his abductors but isn’t revealing much them about them, police sources said.

Thirdly, he’s taking shelter under the abduction case so that he can outfox the cattle trader. Fourthly, when police visited Jangalahalli Road, the scene of the abduction, they didn’t find much material evidence of the abduction.

Police have recorded the statement of Nayaz who arranged the money and the former’s brother Siraj who actually handed it over to the abductors. Police learnt that Nayaz is a cattle trader who would often made the purchases on behalf of Prakash.

Police have also taken the physical description of the alleged abductors and are checking the CCTV footage of the Cafe Coffee Day store on National Highway 75 from where Prakash is said to have been abducted.

Kolar Superintendent of Police Karthik Reddy visited Prakash’s farmhouse near Kolar as well as Jangalahalli. Police have learnt that the farmhouse manager, one Arjun, a native of Maharashtra, has been missing for the past few days. They are trying to trace him.

A senior police officer said one special team had been sent to Pune for further investigation and expressed confidence that the abductors would be tracked down soon.