In what may appear something straight out of a Bollywood plot, the Commissionerate Police on Wednesday rescued a Bhubaneswar-based businessman’s son who was abducted by a professional kidnappers’ gang in a precision-guided operation that lasted for about 36 hours.
The youth, identified as Ishan Agarwal, was abducted by unidentified miscreants from Laxmisagar area in the Capital city on January 31, 2022. The kidnappers had subsequently made a ransom demand of Rs 30 lakh from Ishan’s father Ramrup Agarwal.
Ishan was finally rescued from Sunakhala area on Khordha- Nayagarh border on Wednesday. The four kidnappers have been arrested while a Swift car (without a registration number) and two knives which were used in the kidnapping have been recovered from them, Twin City Police Commissioner Saumendra Priyadarshi said.
The accused have been identified as- Ram Krishna of Berhampur, Santosh Rout of Sambalpur, Dhaneswar Patra of Nayagarh and Mustaq Ali of Khandagiri area in Bhubaneswar.
The kidnappers had divided themselves into 3 teams and always maintained a distance of 20 to 30 kms between them while fleeing with the victim, police said.
Divulging details, Priyadarshi said four special teams, led by the Special Squad, were formed soon after a complaint in connection with the kidnapping of the youth was lodged at the Laxmisagar police station by the victim’s family.
“After kidnapping the youth, the miscreants held him hostage in a car and continued to move places- from Bhubaneswar to Khordha, from Puri to Nayagarh. The kidnappers travelled nearly 800 kms after kidnapping the youth,” said Priyadarshi.
The Police Commissioner said that the police teams used all modes of investigation and even relied on technology to zero in on the hideout of the kidnappers. At the same time, care was taken to ensure safety of the victim, he said.
“One of our teams went on their trail, covering around 700 kms before they were successful in nabbing the kidnappers and rescued the youth,” Priyadarshi added.
It is pertinent to mention here that Ishan was allegedly kidnapped on January 31 last year when he went to have a cup of tea in the evening outside his home.
Sources said the kidnappers had sent a picture of Ishan with a knife pointing at his neck to his father. This was the tactics used by the abductors to compel Ishan’s family to pay up the ransom amount. However, Ishan’s father approached the local police station after getting a call from the kidnappers who demanded Rs 30 lakh for Ishan’s release.
Senior police officials said that all the four accused are professional kidnappers and were involved in a similar kidnapping case in Berhampur. The police will seek the custodial remand of the foursome to carry further investigation, the Police Commissioner added.