Police rescue abducted techie

Bihar-based gang kept him at places across Bardhaman, Hooghly districts

An IT professional, who went missing on his way home at Durgapur in Bardhaman district on October 1, was rescued on Tuesday following a joint operation launched by the police of the Bardhaman and Hooghly districts.

Souvik Bhadra, who works at a renowned telecom company at Sector V in Salt Lake city here, was abducted by a Bihar-based gang that demanded a ransom of Rs.20 lakh from his family.

Claim denied

The police ruled out the claim by Mr. Bhadra's family members that he was released only after they paid Rs.7 lakh as ransom, but admitted that Rs.35,000 was withdrawn from his two bank accounts through ATMs in Hooghly district.

According to the police, the abductors kept Mr. Bhadra at various places across the two districts before he was finally rescued from Debipur in Chinsurah in Hooghly district.

One of the kidnappers was also arrested.

‘Tracking movement'

Superintendent of Police of Hooghly district Tanmoy Roy Chowdhury said that Mr. Bhadra was returning to Durgapur on his motorcycle on the national highway when he was abducted near Shaktigarh in Bardhaman district.

“He was taken to several locations in Bardhaman and Hooghly districts for two days before he was locked up in a room in Debipur. The police were tracking the movement of the gang all along and Mr. Bhadra's phone number as well. We finally zeroed in on them at Debipur and raided the place,” Mr. Chowdhury said.

The arrested abductor, Surojit Singh, hails from Ballia. The police are interrogating him to extract details about the other gang members.