Man blindfolded and kidnapped in Anekal over property dispute

BENGALURU: A 29-year-old man, identified as Srinidhi, was kidnapped in broad daylight near Anekal court on the outskirts of Bengaluru. The kidnappers, who were allegedly led by lawyer Nandish, forced Srinidhi to register his land to one Padmanabha Rao at gunpoint.

The incident occurred on July 4, with Srinidhi being lured to Nandish’s office on the pretext of discussing a land dispute settlement. As he was leaving, he was abducted by a group of people in a Mahindra Scorpio SUV, which was captured on CCTV cameras.

The kidnappers took Srinidhi to a deserted area, beat him and threatened to kill him and his father if he didn’t comply with their demands. Srinidhi was forced to register his land to Padmanabha Rao at the Sarjapur sub-registrar’s office, where Nandish had already made arrangements.

When the kidnappers brought Srinidhi to the sub-registrar office, he started screaming as he entered, claiming that he was kidnapped and alerted the office staff, who informed the police. When the police arrived, Nandish and his accomplices escaped. Srinidhi was later admitted to a hospital for treatment, where he recorded his statement with o the police.

According to him, lawyer Nandish, who is representing Padmanabha Rao’s interests, had called him for a meeting to discuss a land dispute settlement. Srinidhi alleged that Nandish and another lawyer, Vishwanath, had demanded Rs 8 lakh as an advance to settle the dispute. This demand was made during a meeting at a hotel in Sarjapur last month.

On July 1, Nandish had instructed Vishwanath to collect the money from Srinidhi. Vishwanath received Rs 8 lakh from Srinidhi at the Sukh Sagar hotel in Gandhi Nagar. Later, on July 3, Nandish called Srinidhi and asked him to come alone. The next day, on July 4, Nandish again called Srinidhi and asked him to come alone. When Srinidhi arrived near the court, Nandish made him wait for hours.

Nandish then took Srinidhi to a friend’s office for a discussion. After 20 minutes, Nandish told Srinidhi to leave, saying he would call Padmanabha Rao and discuss the matter. However, as Srinidhi was leaving, he was kidnapped by a group of people in a Scorpio vehicle.

The police investigation has raised concerns, with Srinidhi alleging that the investigating officer, Tippeswamy, did not record statements about the lawyer’s involvement. Nandish’s name is not mentioned in the FIR, and the main accused individuals have been granted bail. The accused, Nandish and Vishwanath, have not been arrested. Police are allegedly cooperating in getting bail to the accused, he claimed.

Srinidhi has requested that a new, honest investigating officer be appointed to handle the case, citing lack of trust in the current investigation. He alleged that the investigation has not been conducted properly and that the accused individuals are being allowed to cooperate with each other to get bail.