The Whitefield police, along with the Kolar Rural police, have intensified the probe into the alleged kidnapping of former MLA R. Varthur Prakash. He and his driver were allegedly kidnapped while they were returning from a farmhouse on November 25 and tortured for three days by an armed gang of eight men
The former Kolar MLA met Home Minister Basavaj Bommai on Wednesday to discuss the probe. He also requested security for himself and his family members.
He told the police that the gang came in two cars and stopped his SUV. The men threatened him and his driver with lethal weapons, and forced them to sit in one of the cars. They tied their hands and legs, blindfolded them, and drove around Bengaluru all the while demanding that he pay them a ransom.
Mr. Prakash reportedly arranged for his friend Nayaz to give them ₹48 lakh, but the gang refused to let them go. It was only after the driver Sunil escaped that they set Mr. Prakash free and left him in an open field near Hoskote on November 29.
The police, on Wednesday, surveyed the areas on the outskirts of Bengaluru where the kidnappers had taken Mr. Prakash and reportedly tortured him. The police are verifying CCTV footage and call record details to identify the accused. “We have questioned the driver, Sunil, who had escaped from the kidnappers. He is undergoing treatment at a private hospital,” said a police officer.
According to a senior police official, there are lots of loopholes in the case. “The investigation is on,” he said.
