MYSURU: A real estate businessman was kidnapped by five people in a Tata Sumo from near Heritage Club in Vijayanagar on Saturday night. The police tracked down the kidnappers and arrested five people within a few hours.
The kidnappers, who were armed, attacked Lokesh, threw chilli powder in his eyes, and abducted him on Saturday evening when Lokesh was returning from the club.
When he did not return home, Lokesh’s wife had reported his disappearance to the police, and an investigation was launched. The police found Lokesh’s footwear, motorcycle and chilli powder at the scene, indicating a possible kidnapping.
The kidnappers demanded a ransom of Rs 30 lakh from Lokesh’s family after contacting his friend on phone. The police tracked the phone and arrested the kidnappers. The mastermind behind the kidnapping was Lokesh’s acquaintance Santosh, who had planned the abduction to extort money from Lokesh. Santosh had recruited four others, who were dailywage workers, to carry out the plan.
Police Commissioner Seema Latkar said on Monday, “On the evening of December 6, Lokesh’s wife lodged a complaint at the Vijayanagar police station. Lokesh had told her that he would return at 8.30 pm to attend a marriage, but he did not return home and his phone was switched off. When the police visited the scene, we found chilli powder and Lokesh’s motorcycle at the spot”.
“Some time later, Lokesh’s wife received a voice note that he would return around 11 pm. Another friend received a phone call demanding a ransom of Rs 15-20 lakh. We managed to track down the vehicle near Hampapura near KR Nagar and we arrested five people so far. Santosh, the main accused, was known to the victim for the last three months and had planned the kidnap thinking that Lokesh had lots of money. The case was cracked within a few hours and the victim was safely rescued”, the police commissioner added.
