Three men have been arrested from Chandni Mahal area of central Delhi for involvement in a case of kidnapping for ransom, police said on Wednesday.

Islamuddin, 30, Sarfaraz, 31, and Abu Asim, 24, all residents of Turkman Gate, had kidnapped Zahid on Monday, and released him after extorting a ransom of Rs 20,000 and snatching his Apple iphone, said Devesh Chandra Srivastva, additional commissioner of police (central).

 “The trio had kidnapped Zahid at about 10 pm on Monday from his friend’s house at Shankar Gali in Turkman Gate. They took him to Islamuddin’s office at Sitaram Bazar and beat him up mercilessly. Islamuddin later put a pistol to Zahid’s head and asked him to arrange for Rs 20,000 immediately,” Srivastva said.

On this, Zahid rang his friend, Aamir, and asked him to bring Rs 20,000 to a Mother Dairy booth on Asaf Ali Road.

“When Aamir came there, the three accused dragged him inside the booth and snatched the money. Thereafter, they threatened Zahid not to report the matter to police and let him go,” Srivastva added.

Zahid, however, reported the matter to police after which a case of kidnapping for ransom was registered at Chandni Mahal police station.

During investigation, police found that two of the accused -- Islamuddinn and Sarfaraz -- are Bad Characters (BCs) of Chandni Mahal police station and Abu Asim was also previously arrested in a case of burglary.

Several raids were later conducted at their possible hideouts during which they came to know that the trio was planning to leave Delhi.

“They were arrested over a tip-off and a part of the ransom money, Rs 10,300, and the snatched mobile phone were recovered from their possession,” Srivastva said.