Police have arrested a suspected associate of underworld gangster Ravi Pujari for masterminding the abduction of former MLA Varthur Prakash last month.
Prakash was abducted along with his chauffeur while returning home from a farmhouse in Kolar district on November 25. Prakash later told the police that the abductors set them free after three days after he arranged a payment of Rs 48 lakh for them through a friend.
Police now say they have arrested one Kaviraj, a Hosur native, who had masterminded the entire plot.
Seemant Kumar Singh, Inspector General of Police (Central Range), said they arrested Kaviraj in Tamil Nadu and had brought him to Kolar for questioning about the motive for the abductions.
Police took another suspect, Rohith, to Hosur on Saturday and used him as a bait to trap Kaviraj. The alleged mastermind did show up to meet Rohith but sensed the danger at the last minute and drove off. Police chased him down after his car got stuck on a muddy road, another senior police officer said.
While Prakash claimed that he was abducted for Rs 30 crore, police suspect that there was more to it than meets the eye. The abduction had something to do with a cattle deal that Prakash had done with a Pune-based trader but didn't pay him.
"We suspect it was a far bigger racket and more people were involved. Further investigations are underway and we are trying to identify and arrest others involved in it," Singh added.
The senior officer quoted above said Kaviraj carried out the abduction with the help of four of his foot soldiers, who have since been arrested. Kaviraj is said to be a close aide of Pujari, who was extradited from Senegal in February.
Published 13 December 2020, 19:56 IST