Seven arrested for kidnapping interior designer

They had demanded a ransom of Rs 50 lakh for his release

Seven people, who had allegedly kidnapped an interior designer and demanded a ransom of Rs 50 lakh, have been arrested.

According to the Ramamurthy Nagar police, the gang had kidnapped Sunil, 22, an interior designer and a resident of OMBR Layout near Ramamurthy Nagar, on January 4. He works with his father Ashok at their interior design office at Banaswadi.

On January 4, around 1.45 pm, Sunil was returning home for lunch when a speeding car overtook him and stopped in front of his bike at OMBR Layout.

Two people got down from the car and started abusing Sunil saying that he brushed and damaged their car. Sunil denied the charge and tried to leave the place but the two did not let him go.

They took him near the car on the pretext of showing him the damages. As Sunil neared the car, some persons sitting inside it opened the door, pulled him in and sped away. Around 5 pm, they called Ashok using Sunil’s mobile phone and threatened to kill his son if he did not pay Rs 50 lakh. Initially, Ashok thought it was a prank played by his son and cut the call.

The abductors called again and made Sunil to talk to his father. That is when Ashok realised that his son was kidnapped. He approached the police and lodged a complaint. The police formed a team and directed Ashok to act as per their direction. They tracked down the number and found that the kidnappers were in the City.

When Ashok got another call for ransom, he told them that he would arrange Rs 10 lakh for now and pay the remaining amount later.

As the abductors agreed to the deal, Ashok took a hand bag and stuffed it with clothes to make it look like it contained cash. He was asked to come with the cash near Seva Nagar flyover. Policemen in plain clothes followed him. When Ashok reached the flyover, he got another call asking him to go to the middle of the flyover and drop the bag from there.

The police noticed two persons on a bike below the flyover. But, the two on the bike got a hint and informed the other members of the gang about the presence of police. They immediately fled the spot abandoning Sunil.

The police rescued Sunil and chased the bike but could not catch the culprits. The police had made note of the bike's registration number and tracked down the kidnappers from different parts of the City and arrested them.

Dayalu, Vijay, Rahim Khan, Suresh, Shaikh Ahmed, Saifulla and Syed Imran are the arrested. They are all aged around 30 years and were working as goods vehicle drivers and cab drivers.

They are said to be residents of Lingarajapura, Bagalur and surrounding areas. The police have recovered a car, an autorickshaw and some mobile phones used in the crime from them.