In less than seven hours after he was kidnapped, the East Division police rescued a 22-year-old student and arrested seven people. The gang had allegedly kidnapped the son of the owner of a Bengaluru nursing college and demanded ₹2 crore for his safe release.
The youth, Rabeez Arafath, was abducted from a shop near his house in HBR Layout where he went to have juice on Thursday afternoon. When eye-witnesses saw the accused manhandling the victim and forcing him into a car, they tried to intervene. “But the kidnappers said they wanted to question him as he had molested a girl. They attacked a passer-by when he attempted to rescue Arafath,” said a police officer.
Two hours later, the victim’s father, Arifulla, received a call from the kidnappers demanding ₹2 crore if he wanted to see his son alive. They allegedly threatened to physically harm his son if he alerted the authorities. In panic, Arifulla approached the police for help, who formed a special team led by S.D. Sharanappa, DCP (East).
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The police obtained CCTV camera footage and analysed call record details before tracking the accused down to an abandoned shed at Banaswadi, where the youth was being held. To avoid raising suspicion, the police team disguised themselves as labourers and used tractors to surround the area. They rescued Arafath and arrested all the seven kidnappers — Abdul Fahad, Zabiulla, Korewel Salman, Thufeeq, Goutham, Kiran, and Thouheed Pasha. “All of them had taken huge loans that they were unable to pay. One of the accused had borrowed money for his sister’s wedding. Another accused, Fahad, had been booked in a kidnap case after he eloped with a girl in 2018,” said a senior police officer. He added that they decided to kidnap Arafath as the family is known in the area. “They thought his family could afford to pay the ransom.”
Commending the personnel on their timely action, Police Commissioner Kamal Pant announced a cash reward of ₹40,000 to the team.