GHAZIABAD/HARIDWAR: An air force corporal was among three persons arrested following a
shootout in Haridwar for
kidnapping the owner of a steel casting factory from Ghaziabad and demanding Rs 2 crore from his family.
The police said Pradeep Chauhan, an air force member, had scripted the kidnap of
businessman Anil Arora on Thursday. One of the two other accused worked for Arora as a welder in his factory, the police said.
Ghaziabad SSP Hari Narayan Singh said Arora had been rescued in Haridwar on Saturday evening.
"The abducted businessman is safe. No money was given to secure his release. The three men who had kidnapped him have been nabbed following a
shootout in Jwalapuri police station in Haridwar district.
Two of the kidnappers suffered gunshot injuries. Several police teams, including from the crime branch, had been pressed into service," Singh said. According to Arora's relatives, the businessman had left for his factory, JB Industries, around 8.30am on Thursday. Arora often travelled in a scooter and employed 12 people in his steel casting factory.
"My father called me around 9.30pm to say Anil hadn't returned home and his phone was unreachable. I immediately rushed to the factory and called up friends and acquaintances, but no one knew about his whereabouts. Anil's scooter was parked in the factory. An old worker, Montu, told us Anil had left the factory with some persons in a white car and said he would reach home by himself. Montu said he did not recognise the make of the car," Arora's younger brother,Manish told TOI.
Manish informed the police around 1am after unsuccessful attempts to trace him. The police scanned CCTV footage from the factory premises, which revealed that the businessman had left in a white Suzuki Swift. The vehicle did not have any registration number.
The police registered a case of kidnapping against unknown persons and put Arora's phone on surveillance. The relatives said Arora's father, Avinashi Lal, received a call around 2.10am asking the ransom amount to be paid. "The call had been made from Anil's phone. I took the call and the caller asked me what would be a good price to see my brother alive. He demanded for Rs 2 crore," said Manish. The caller asked Manish to come to Ambala station with the cash at 8am on January 26.
The businessman's father got a second call 20 minutes later. This time, the caller asked Arora's daughter, who is married and settled in Delhi, to come to Ambala with the money. "The caller sounded soft and even settled for Rs 1.5 crore. He gave the phone to Anil, who pleaded with me to rescue him," said Manish.
The police, who had been tracking Arora's phone, said they challenged the kidnappers at Ram Nagar Colony, a busy locality in Haridwar. Mamta Vora, SP (city) of Haridwar, said: "When the police tried to stop them around 5pm, they opened fire and tried to flee. But they were eventually nabbed. Pradip Chauhan is a corporal in the air force and posted in Delhi."
The police said it was Chauhan who had planned the kidnap along with Rashid, who worked in Arora's factory. The third accused, Motin, is Rashid's cousin. The police said Chauhan was hit by two bullets in the limbs and one hit Rashid in the arm.
Arora told TOI: "Rashid worked as a welder in my factory. He had told me he wanted to discuss something regarding business and asked me to get into the car. They took me to Meerut and then Shamli, from where they called my brother. They even beat me up."
Representative image.
