Three arrested for kidnapping realtor

BENGALURU: The Hebbagodi police have arrested three accused belonging to a notorious gang in connection with the recent kidnapping of a realtor. The real estate businessman had been released after a ransom of Rs 3 lakh was paid.

The arrested accused are Murali from Iggalur, Madan, Lakshminarayan and Syed Jaffar. The police arrested thembased on the complaint of real estate entrepreneur Jalandara R.

Their modus operandi involves gathering information about wealthy individuals, attaching mini magnetic GPS devices to vehicles of realtors or businessmen and tracking their movements for at least 15 days. They then strike, kidnapping the individual and demand ransom.

They attack the victim, threaten with sharp weapons and demand money. If the victim does not agree to pay, the gang takes him to the Krishnagiri forest.

In one such incident, they kidnapped a real estate entrepreneur, Jalandara in September last year and released him after getting a ransom of Rs 30 lakh. Recently, they planted a GPS device on his car again, planning another kidnapping, but were caught by the police. The businessman had filed a complaint after the GPS device was found while washing the car.

The main accused in the case are Subbareddy and Satyanarayan, both from Tamil Nadu, who are still at large. Two of the accused would fix targets for kidnapping and robbery. Later, the targeted individual will be kidnapped by Murali and other.

Financial assistance was also being provided if any of the accused was caught by police, including bail. In addition, the accused would get a share of the money received from the robbery. The gang has kidnapped and robbed over ten people. They would attack and intimidate their victims using deadly weapons and demand huge ransoms. Further investigation is under way.