KUMUD JENAMANI
Jamshedpur, June 3: Police today solved the case of ransom extortion from a Telco-based restaurant owner by arresting four of the criminals involved in the crime.
Though it was a blind case to investigate, the police succeeded to crack it following the registration number of a four-wheeler that had been used to collect the ransom amount from Bistupur.
Those arrested were identified as Abhishek Kumar (23), Sunny Nayak (28), Harjeet Singh (28) and Pradeep Kumar (26), all residents of Sidhgora. Seven more persons, including a key member of the gang, are still at large and the police are to arrest them all soon.
Owner of Sky High restaurant in Telco, Akaash Kumar Sinha and one of his staff had been abducted by a gang of armed criminals from behind the Golmuri golf course under Golmuri thana area on May 27 afternoon. The abductors had released the victims after extortion of Rs 14 lakhs from Sinha the next morning.
Sinha (40) who was under trauma had lodged an FIR against the unidentified criminals with the Golmuri thana belatedly on May 29, leading the police to start the investigation.
As there was no CCTV camera installed in the secluded place from where the restaurant owner had been abducted, it was a challenge for the police to detect the case.
Addressing a press conference, senior SP, M Tamil Vanan said that after the abduction, Sinha and his staff were kept in captivity somewhere in Adityapur.
“During the captivity, the criminals had demanded Sinha to pay Rs 60 lakhs for his release. The criminals had also allowed the restaurant owner to contact his family members for arranging the ransom amount. During this period, the criminals had also pointed out the place from where the ransom money was to be picked up. The place was somewhere in Bistupur. Incidentally, the members of Sinha’s family informed the police about the precise place. A police team which had started working with great cautiousness as Sinha was in the criminals’ clutch, succeeded to note down the registration number of the four-wheelers which arrived there for collecting the ransom amount. Later having verified the number for the district transport office, the police succeeded to reach up to the criminals, ” narrated Vanan.
He said it was Abhishek who had come in contact with Sinha on the pretext of seeking a job in the restaurant and had helped Sunil in conspiring the abduction.
The senior SP said the criminals had used a toy pistol for carrying out the abduction.
He pointed out they have seized the toy pistol and one of the three cars used in the abduction.
Vanan said no money could be recovered as the amount is with Sunil Kumar who is among those who absconded.
