Two kidnapped for Rs 1crore ransom, six held

VADODARA: Six persons were arrested for kidnapping two citizens for ransom on Tuesday. According to police, Shivang Patel, a resident of Pratapganj, and Vinesh Verma, a resident of Harni Road, were kidnapped by the accused and taken to a garage on Sun Pharma Road on Sunday evening. An accused identified as Prem and his accomplices first thrashed the duo and then took away their watches and mobile phones. “The accused then demanded ransom money from them. When Patel and Verma said they didn’t have cash, they asked them to get ornaments worth Rs1 crore,” the police said. The Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) later arrested Mohammed Shoaib Pathan, 21, Yahya Khan Pathan, 21 Shahrukh Diwan, 20 and Taufiq Patel, all residents of Tandalja and their accomplices Rajvinder Singh alias Raja Mattoo, a resident of Chhani and Vijay Rana. Mattoo has been arrested earlier also, but for vehicle theft and in a case of prohibition. Shoaib too was arrested in an assault case earlier while Yahya Khan was also involved in thefts.Police are also trying to track down Prem and another person named Hitesh.The victims managed to flee from the spot and reach the JP Road police station.When asked how Patel and Verma managed to flee from the garage, Vala said, “The accused got scared that the police may track them down and hence they fled leaving the victims behind. Both the complainants are saying that they don’t know any of the accused. It may be a case of some past enmity or money dispute. We are yet to arrest anyone in the case,” said J P Road police sub-inspector, R H Vala. The police said they were investigating whether money was the only reason behind the kidnapping and if the accused knew the complainants. “The complainants are admitted to SSG Hospital as they were beaten up. We will take their detailed statements once they recover from their injuries,” Vala added.