A former cryptocurrency investor and financial adviser, who fled from Australia following bankruptcy, was the mastermind behind the kidnapping of a dentist from Kismatpur in Rajendranagar on Tuesday afternoon.
Musthafa, a close relative of the victim Dr. Behjath Hussain (56), hatched a conspiracy with his associate Khalid and their employees to abduct the latter to settle his debts and lead a ‘luxurious life’. He is currently into hospitality industry in Hyderabad and Pune.
A resident of Kismatpur, Dr. Hussain was kidnapped by four persons clad in burqas from his yet-to-be inaugurated clinic at around 1.15 p.m. on Tuesday. He was taken to a house at Yellammabanda of Kukatpally in his own SUV and was later handed over to another ‘team’, who planned to take him to Udupi in Karnataka.
Meanwhile, the Cyberabad police nabbed the first team of kidnappers — Sumit, Akshay, Salman and Vicky — who spilled the beans about the other team. “Soon, we alerted our counterparts in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra, and at 6.30 a.m. on Wednesday, Dr. Hussain was rescued by the Anantapur police, who also nabbed the accused,” Commissioner V.C. Sajjanar said.
While trailing the kidnappers, police lost track of them at Kurnool and later near Anantapur. He said that Musthafa demanded the family to pay a ransom of ₹10 crore in bitcoins within 48 hours to release the doctor safely and threatened to not approach police.
The Australian government has initiated action against Musthafa for his illegal dealings in cryptocurrency. Mubashir Ahmed alias Khalid was his business partner there. “Because of their unstable financial position and as they got addicted to a lavish life, the duo decided to kidnap the victim and demand money as they knew his financial position,” Mr. Sajjanar said. Dr. Hussain was also into real estate and owns huge property in Hyderabad.
Dr. Hussain said that Musthafa’s involvement came as a shock to him as he considered the latter as his close family member. “I trusted him and never expected him to go to such extent for money,” he said.
