7 arrested for kidnapping two men, extorting nearly Rs 80 lakh from them

CHIKKABALLAPUR: The Chikkaballapur Rural police have arrested a gang of seven kidnappers who had extorted nearly Rs 80 lakh from two of their victims. The gang leader Lohit alias Rohit is also the main accused in the dacoity case involving former minister Varthur Prakash

Lohit a.k.a Rohit, and Barkath (right) were among those arrested.

The arrested are Lohit alias Rohit, Praveen alias Nepali, Santosh, Venkatesh, Bharat Nayak, Prasanna and Barkath. They had first kidnapped former JD(S) leader Samiullah, who is presently with the Congress, and extorted Rs 18 lakh from him. One of the accused, Barkath, had a running fued with Samiullah, police said.

Barkath nursed old rivalry with Samiullah.

Spurred by their success, the gang had kidnapped real estate businessman Naveen of Kuduvathi village and extorted Rs 60 lakh from him. They are now cooling their heels behind bars.