Three arrested for abducting contractor, demanding ransom

Victim was rescued from Sitapur in Uttar Pradesh

Three persons have been arrested for allegedly abducting a contractor, the police said on Friday. The victim was rescued from Uttar Pradesh’s Sitapur district, they said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Atul Thakur said that the accused have been identified as Irfan Ali (27), Aziz Ali (35) and Bablu (24), all residents of Sitapur.

Payment dispute

The police said that one of the accused, Irfan, who used to work with the victim, planned the abduction following a dispute with him over payment of money.

According to the police, on October 24, a woman residing in Malviya Nagar lodged a complaint, alleging that her husband Ramesh Chandra, who had gone to Lakhimpur Kheri in U.P. for some work on October 23, had been abducted by some unidentified people. She said they had also demanded a ransom of ₹4 lakh for his release.

A case was then registered and investigation revealed that Irfan had called the victim to Lakhimpur Kheri on the pretext of finalising some deal. “With the help of technical surveillance, the police reached Sitapur, rescued Mr. Chandra from a jungle and arrested the accused on Wednesday,” Mr. Thakur said.

During interrogation, Irfan told the police that he was engaged in stone polishing work along with Mr. Chandra in Delhi, but a dispute had ensued between them over an issue of payment. In order to teach Mr. Chandra a lesson, he made a plan to abduct him. He asked the victim to come to Lakhimpur Kheri and when he arrived at the bus stand, he was abducted by Vakeel, Irfan’s elder brother, and Aziz Ali, who took him to Sitapur in a car. They also admitted to have demanded ₹4 lakh as ransom.

Two on the run

The police said that efforts are being made to nab Vakeel and another accused, identified as Samim.