In an overnight operation, the Delhi Police rescued a 64-year-old Mumbai-based businessman who was abducted from a luxury hotel in New Delhi on Friday night and confined in a building in east Delhi’s Laxmi Nagar. The police said that the man had fallen victim to a honey trap and a ransom amount of ₹30 lakh had been demanded for his release. The police have arrested four women and two men for the abduction.

A police officer who was probing the case, but is not authorised to speak to the media, said that they got a call around 10.50pm on Friday from one of the businessman’s friends reporting that he had been abducted.

“The man told us that the abducters had asked for a ransom of ₹30 lakh for his release. We started to investigate, and the phone number from which the call was received was put on surveillance. CCTV camera footage from the hotel was also checked and the man was seen leaving the hotel in a Hyundai Verna car. The vehicle’s registration number was noted and a message was passed across the Delhi Police’s district control rooms and PCR vans to trace the vehicle,” said the police officer.

He said CCTV camera footage along the route the car had travelled were checked. “We traced the car as far as we could. Further, following overnight raids and technical surveillance we finally managed to trace the businessman’s location to a building in Laxmi Nagar. Around 6am, our teams conducted a raid at the identified address and the man was rescued,” said the officer.

Additional deputy commissioner of police (New Delhi) Eish Singhal said that four woman and two men were arrested for the abduction. The businessman was rescued and his family members were informed, he said.

Singhal, however, refused to reveal the names of the businessman or the suspects arrested for the alleged abduction, stating that the matter was under investigation. “All six have been booked for the abduction under the Indian Penal Code Section 363. We are investigating the gang’s involvement in other cases. It was a honey trap case and further details are being probed,” Singhal said.

First Published: May 19, 2019 05:52 IST