MBBS student held for abducting batchmate, extorting ₹60k

Bareilly: A 22-year-old third-year MBBS student at Rajshree Medical College was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly abducting his batchmate and extorting Rs 60,000 after plotting a ransom of Rs 50 lakh, police said.Divij Bahl allegedly conspired with a cab driver to kidnap his 22-year-old batchmate Gaurav Barpe, after suffering heavy losses in stock trading, said SSP Bareilly Anurag Arya. "Divij had invested money in trading and lost around Rs 25 lakh. After learning that the victim had nearly Rs 1 crore in his bank account, he hatched a plan to abduct him," Arya told TOI.As per the FIR accessed by TOI, the incident occurred around 4 pm on Nov 9 when Gaurav, along with batchmates Divij and Gauravendra Singh, was returning to campus on a scooter from Radha Krishna temple. As they climbed a nearby flyover, a van overtook them and blocked their way."A group of men got down, assaulted us, and forced me into the van. They took us to an isolated spot and demanded my UPI PIN, threatening to kill me. Out of fear, I gave it to them," Gaurav said in his complaint.He added that Divij, who was with the kidnappers, transferred Rs 60,000 from his account to his own through multiple transactions. "During the ordeal, I heard Divij calling one of the men ‘Sonu', and realised he was part of the plan," he said.Gaurav further alleged that Divij later demanded Rs 50 lakh from his father and a friend, threatening to kill him if the ransom wasn't paid. Around 11.30 pm, the abductors released Gaurav and Gauravendra near an isolated area after spotting police patrols.SSP Arya said the accused had "even instructed his aide to stage his own abduction to deflect suspicion," but when the victim recognised one of the kidnappers, the plan began to unravel. "As police tracked their movement, the accused panicked, abandoned the victims, and fled," he added.Police have arrested Divij, while efforts are underway to trace the driver and others involved. No one from Rajshree Medical College was available for comment.