KG Halli police arrest four for kidnap, rescue student within 7 hours

BENGALURU: The KG Halli police arrested four youngsters who kidnapped a 22-year-old student and demanded a ransom of Rs 2 crore, and rescued the victim within seven hours of the case being reported.

The arrested -- Abdul Fahad, Jabiulla, Korewel Salman and Thaufik -- had planned the kidnap to pay off their huge loans and lead a lavish life. Police said that Meer Arifulla, a resident of HBR Layout Third Block, who runs a nursing college, filed a complaint on Thursday, stating that his son Rabeez Arafath had been kidnapped. The gang had contacted him and demanded a ransom of Rs 2 crore for his son’s safe release. Rabeez, who is doing his MS in the United Kingdom, was at home due to the pandemic, and was attending online classes.

“The accused kidnapped him from HBR Layout Ring Road around 12.45 pm. An acquaintance of the complainant saw this and immediately alerted the victim’s father, who called the police. About two hours later, the abductors made a ransom call, demanded Rs 2 crore and threatened to kill the youth if the demand was not met,” police said.

Police formed five special teams which investigated all angles, collected details of the accused with the help of informants, scanned CCTV footage and accessed other  technical assistance. “The abductors were constantly moving in a car on the outskirts of the city. Their movement was tracked and they were caught around 9.30 pm. The four accused were arrested and the victim was rescued, though a few others managed to escape. Efforts are on to nab them,” police said.

Investigations revealed that the accused had purchased a car from an online classified platform to commit the offence. “The accused planned to identify children of wealthy persons and kidnap them for ransom. About a week ago, they identified the complainant’s son as a target, as he was running a nursing college. They wanted to repay their debts and lead a lavish life. Their attempt to kidnap Rabeez had failed two days ago,” the police added.The mastermind, Abdul Fahad, was involved in a kidnap case in 2018, police said.