Bengaluru: The police arrested three men who had allegedly kidnapped a 41-year-old businessman on the instructions of his partner. According to the police, the partner had hoped to recover a sum of ₹2.9 crore that the businessman reportedly owed him.
On Wednesday, the victim, Srihari Sudarshan, went to his office, but failed to return to his home in Bagalur. On Thursday, his wife Soujanya received a call from her husband’s phone where she was informed that he had been kidnapped. She told the police that they demanded her husband’s cheque book in return for his safe release.
Soujanya immediately approached the police who analysed the call record details of Srihari’s phone. They found that, after calling Soujanya, the kidnappers had made a series of calls to Hyderabad in Telangana.
Several police teams were formed to track down the victim. While combing the city, Bagaluru Inspector Anjan Kumar came across a car, registered in Andhra Pradesh, parked near J.D. Garden.
On seeing the police, the occupants sped away. Police pursued them and intercepted the vehicle near the airport service road.
Inside, they found Srihari with Mohammed Waseem (35), Mohammed Abdul Zameer (38) and Syed Waseef (46) — all from Andhra Pradesh.
On being questioned, the trio claimed that they had agreed to kidnap Srihari on the bidding of his partner Suresh who lives in Secunderabad in Telangana.
Suresh and Srihari were running a ‘visa funding business’ for people travelling abroad for 22 years. According to the police, applicants for a business visa are expected to show a certain amount of bank balance. Srihari and Suresh would deposit the required amount in a client’s bank account for a fee.
They had recently started arguing over sharing the profits, said the police.
The trio claimed that Suresh had promised them ₹20 lakh for kidnapping Srihari. The Bagaluru police are on the lookout for Suresh who is on the run.
