Abducted Kanpur lab technician killed even after payment of ransom; ASP among ten cops suspended

A lab technician, who had been kidnapped last month from Kanpur town, was killed by his abductors, even after alleged payment of Rs 30 lakh as ransom.

Police said on Friday that the technician, identified as Sanjeet Yadav, had been abducted by his friends and was killed to prevent him from exposing the criminals. His body was dumped into a river.

Five people, including a woman, have been arrested in connection with the kidnapping.

Ten cops, including assistant superintendent of police (ASP) Aparna Gupta and a circle officer, were suspended by chief minister Yogi Adityanath on charges of laxity.

Police said that Sanjeet's friends had abducted him for ransom. ''They thought that Sanjeet had a lot of money as he was planning to set up his own diagnostic lab,'' said a senior police official in Kanpur.

The official said that Sanjeet was called by his friends on the pretext of joining a birthday party on June 22. ''He was drugged and taken to a secluded place,'' he said.

The abductors demanded a ransom of Rs 30 lakh from the family to release Sanjeet. The police laid a trap but the abductors managed to escape after taking the money under the police's nose.

Police said that Sanjeet was killed, when he tried to escape on June 26, police said.

The killing triggered widespread outrage and the opposition parties attacked the BJP government over what they alleged complete breakdown of law and order in the state.