Normally, the police come into picture after a crime is committed. But in this case, it is a tad different.
Basing on a tip-off, a team from the Central Crime Station (CCS) led by G. Raghu Srinivas arrested four persons of a seven-member gang on Friday, which, the police charged, had unsuccessfully planned to kidnap three persons and commit two dacoities.
The arrested persons were Ganreddy Ramu (25) of Akkayyapalem, Sappa Dali Raju (23) of MTC Palem, Koyalade Siva Kumar (26) and Md. Rafi (26) of Gopalapatnam.
Three others were absconding, said Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police S. Varada Raju.
They were identified as Santosh, Johnny alias Dumpala Ganesh, and Vikram.
The police seized five knives, eight pairs of gloves, one dagger, three hacksaw blades, ski masks, and nylon rope bundles from their possession. The gang members were also said to have conducted a recce of all the targeted places.
The police said that the accused first planned to kidnap a doctor near KGH on June 14 and demand a ransom of Rs. 15 lakh.
On June 15, they moved to Bheemunipatnam to loot a gold shop.
The next day, the accused went to Muralinagar in the city to relieve a couple of its belongings at knife-point. They later wanted to kidnap a four-year-old boy from a house in Abid Nagar and demand a ransom of Rs. 5 lakh. Finally, on June 18, they went to Srikakulam with an intention to kidnap a doctor for ransom.
However, none of their plans fructified either due to presence of a large number of people or vehicular traffic at the predetermined places or due to arrival of relatives and friends at the houses they had targeted to attack.
“Though they have failed in their attempts, their intention is dangerous and they are armed. They will not hesitate to harm.
Timely information has helped us nab the accused,” said Mr. Varada Raju.
The police booked them under Section 399 of the IPC and sent them to remand.
