Policemen turn 'farmers' to nab kidnappers

In a filmy operation, the city police have rescued a kidnapped realtor by arresting six involved in the crime.

Police personnel split in three teams, disguised as farmers and laid the trap near Uttanahalli cross abutting Chamundi Hill road on Wednesday. The accused have been identified as Pradeep Kumar, aged 26 years, resident of Giridarshini Layout; Prathap, 24, Basaveshwara Teacher’s Colony; Nagendra, 26, Giridarshini Layout; Deepak, 20, Alanahalli; and Gurumallappa, 23, Udaygiri. Three others are absconding.

Addressing the media here on Thursday, DCP (law and order) A N Rajanna said a nine member gang had kidnapped B R Vasu, 54, a real estate agent from Vidyaranyapuram here on February 2. Vasu went missing during his morning walk the same day. He had called his wife Indumathi in the night saying that he would home soon. However, Indumathi received a call on her cellphone from her husband’s mobile following day. The caller placed a demand for a ransom of Rs 20 lakh, as per the complaint registered with the Vidyaranyapuram police.

Soon, three police teams led by the ACP (in-charge) of K R sub-division Shanthamallappa, Inspector of Vidyaranyapuram K C Prakash and Jagadish of City Crime Information Bureau (CCIB), were constituted.

The kidnappers who contacted Indumathi again asked her to come near Uttanahalli cross with the ransom on February 5. The kidnappers had also given a code (eight digits with an alphabet printed for security purpose on a currency note having a face value of Rs 10) to Indumathi, instructing her to hand over the money to the person who hands over the currency note matching the code.

While police dressed as farmers and shepherds kept a watch, the first two accused (Pradeep and Prathap) came near Indumathi, only to be nabbed by the police. The duo led them to a farm house nearby where Vasu was kept hostage. The remaining four accused were also apprehended. A Maruti van, two two-wheelers and weapons have been recovered from them.

The officer said, Lokesh alias ‘Tharakari’ Loki a rowdy sheet was the brain behind the kidnap, who is currently at large along with two others.