AHMEDABAD: The city crime branch on Sunday rescued Samir Hudda (aka Pintoo), 20, and Samir Vadhvani, 18, from kidnappers led by Vadhvani’s relative, Salim Hudda alias Sikander. The kidnappers initially wanted Rs 1 crore for the Surendranagar duo, but later scaled down their demand to Rs 40 lakh.
The cops let the handover of the money take place to ensure that Pintoo and Samir were not harmed. Then the cops discreetly followed the kidnappers till they reached one in a series of barricades set up especially for the operation. The cops have recovered the money given as ransom. Pintoo and Samir were freed near Ampad village on the Borsad-Vadodara Road.
Sikander had planned the kidnapping to pay off his debts. He has been arrested. Joint commissioner of police, crime branch, Amitkumar Vishwakarma said Vipul Aal, Dharmendra Parmar, and Nilesh Bar of Surendranagar have also been held in the case.
Assistant commissioner of police, crime branch, D P Chudasama said that the kidnapping drama began unfolding on the morning of December 31, 2020. Pintoo and Samir along with Sikander and their driver Jagdish Maharaj set off from Surendranagar for Ahmedabad. “Pintoo had to buy clothes and Sikander pretended that he had to procure spices for his business in Surendranagar,” added Chudasama.
According to inspector A Y Baloch of the crime branch, at about 1.30pm on December 31, Samir’s father Salim Vadhvani called Pintoo’s father Azad Hudda and told him that his son’s phone was switched off. Salim suggested that Azad call Pintoo to find out where the two boys were. But Pintoo’s phone was switched off too.
“Then at about 5pm that day, a girl called Pintoo’s sister Reshma to say that he had been picked up by police,” Baloch said.
“Right after that, an employee of Azad’s saree store called her up to say that both Pintoo and Samir had been taken to Aslali police station in Ahmedabad. But the news turned out to be false.”