Three men who allegedly kidnapped a former councillor’s son in 2016 were arrested following a shoot-out with a Special Cell team on Wednesday, the police said on Thursday.
The accused have been identified as Manjeet Dabas alias Chandpuria (32), Arshu Shokeen (30) and Bhagat alias Bhanu (30), they said. Manjeet had a bounty of ₹1 lakh on his head and there was a reward of ₹50,000 each for information on Arshu and Bhagat.
The abduction
The former councillor’s son, a resident of Budh Vihar, was near Netaji Subhash Place in his car on September 27, 2016, when he was flagged down by a man wearing a traffic policeman’s uniform and another person in a khaki uniform.
As soon as the victim stopped his car, an SUV came to a halt next to his vehicle and grabbed him. A case was registered at Netaji Subhash Place police station. The father received a call demanding ₹50 crore in ransom. He negotiated with the kidnappers and paid ₹1 crore with a promise to pay a similar instalment after his son’s release, the police said.
The victim was released in Gurugram on October 3, 2016, after the kidnappers received the ransom. The case was transferred to the Crime Branch, which arrested four of Manjeet’s accomplices even as he remained at large. A Special Cell team mounted technical surveillance and conducted raids at several places to trace the remaining accused.
On Wednesday, the team received a tip-off regarding Arshu’s arrival in Haryana’s Jhajjar. A trap was laid and Arshu was nabbed. He told the police about his hideout at Chhawla, and Manjeet and Bhagat’s plan to visit him at midnight.
“A team spotted the two accused on a motorcycle near the hideout. Manjeet and Bhagat were asked to stop but sped away. However, they lost balance and fell. They tried to flee on foot and fired at the police when asked to stop. They were arrested after a brief shoot-out,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Sanjeev Kumar Yadav.
Manjeet completed his graduation from Delhi and his BEd from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh. He was a Civil Defence volunteer for a while before he turned to crime, Mr. Yadav said. Arshu completed his graduation in 2012 and worked with a private insurance company till 2014. The three accused were allegedly paid by one Mahesh Thekedar to kidnap the former councillor’s son.
