JOIN USHYDERABAD: A small-time Indian jeweller was kidnapped and murdered in Singapore by some people who befriended him on Facebook.
Vasudev Raj of Kushaiguda had gone to Singapore on October 27 saying he had an important business meeting. Two more persons joined him at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport and they took a flight to Singapore.
The trip was the first and last for Vasudev. Family members said Vasudev was confined to a hotel room upon arrival. The family was warned with a WhatsApp messages in broken English from Vasudev's own phone. The abductors also sent semi-nude photos of Vasudev lying on the floor.
The family members said they pleaded with the kidnappers, possibly from Pakistan, not to harm Vasudev and inform them that they could not afford to pay the Rs 3-crore ransom. "Then forget. He is dead," the abductors replied. In another photo sent by the kidnappers, a knife was placed to Vasudev's neck.
Family members have rushed to Singapore.
A complaint has been lodged with the Singapore police, but no formal complaint was filed in Hyderabad. "It is only unofficial information we got from family members who said the Indian embassy in Singapore has called them," said Kushaiguda police inspector N Venkata Ramana.