4 held for abducting actor Mushtaq Khan, comedian Sunil Pal in 2024

Bijnor: Four accused in the 2024 kidnapping and ransom cases involving Bollywood actor Mushtaq Khan and comedian Sunil Pal were arrested in Bijnor on Sunday and Monday. The accused were earlier booked under the Gangster Act.The City Kotwali police arrested Arjun Karnwal from Bulla Ka Chauraha, Shubham Kujar from Chamarpeḍa locality, Shabiuddin from Acharzan mohalla and Gola alias Akash Kumar. They were produced in court on Monday and were sent to jail.Earlier, cases under the Gangster Act were registered against 10 accused, including the alleged gang leader Sarthak, also known as Ricky Chaudhary, and his associates. Police said the group operated as an organised gang involved in kidnapping and extortion, with their criminal history documented in an official gang chart.SP Abhishek Jha said the accused were earlier arrested in connection with criminal cases and were out of jail on bail, when they abducted Khan and Pal.On Nov 20, 2024, the gang allegedly lured Khan to an event, abducted him from Delhi and brought him to Bijnor, where he was confined and forced to pay a ransom of Rs 2.20 lakh. On Dec 2, 2024, Pal was similarly kidnapped, and Rs 8 lakh was extorted from him.Police said the remaining accused will be apprehended soon.