Driver plots to 'kidnap' boss

In a highly dramatic case, the police have arrested the driver of a 65-year-old woman and his eight accomplices for kidnapping her and receiving a ransom of Rs one crore plus Rs 30 lakh worth of gold jewellery for her release.

The police said Raja alias Raju had plotted with his eight accomplices to kidnap his employer, H R Anusuya, on June 28. Raja was driving Anusuya to Koramangala in her Toyota Innova car when two men stopped the vehicle at Huskur around 11.30 am that day.

They had parked a Tata Sumo in the middle of the road. Just as the Innova pulled up, the men burst into it and threatened Anusuya and Raja at knifepoint.

Then they sped away, spending the next 24 hours in Mandya, Melukote, Mysore and the surrounding areas.

Meantime, they called up Anusuya’s son Ram Reddy, a real estate businessman in Koramangala, and demanded Rs ten crore for her release.

“The kidnappers had called Reddy from Anusuya’s mobile phone and demanded a ransom of Rs 10 crore. Later, they scaled down the ransom to Rs one crore and the jewellery.

Fearing for his mother’s life, Reddy arranged the money within 24 hours and paid the kidnappers on Bangalore-Mysore highway on June 29,” Inspector General of Police (Central Range) Syed Ulfat Hussain said.

The next day, they dropped Anusuya and the driver near Mandya and sped away. The same day, Anusuya made a complaint to the Hebbagodi police.

As the police swung into action, they suspected Raja’s role in the crime and detained him for questioning.

“He spilled the beans and confessed that he and his accomplices hatched the plot. He was formally arrested the same day and special teams were formed to track down the other suspects,” Hussain said.

The police teams managed to chase down the eight men in the early hours of Friday. They are Manju, Manjunath, Krishnappa, all from Krishnagiri district in Tamil Nadu, Syed Imran, from Srirangapatna, Amir, Saleem alias Saeem Khan, Imran alias Sadiq, from Mysore and M Ganesh, from Guttahalli in Anekal.

“While Raja had told his accomplices how rich Reddy is, the man who actually plotted the kidnap was Imran. The suspects splurged Rs seven lakh in just three days, but we have recovered the rest of the cash and the jewellery,” said B Ramesh, Superintendent of Police, Bangalore Rural.