5 held for abducting man, trying to run over cop in Ganjam

BERHAMPUR: Five persons were arrested on Thursday for the alleged assault and abduction of a 23-year-old man and then trying to run over a policeman when he tried to stop the abductors near Chikiti in Ganjam district the previous night.
Police, however, chased the car and managed to rescue Jitendra Pradhan near K.Nuagaon. Jitendra, who was admitted to a local hospital for treatment, was said to be in love with one of the accused's sister, resulting in his alleged abduction and assault.
Those arrested include Sisir Pradhan (26), Amar Pradhan (19), Sunil Sahu (29) and Padma Lochan Pradhan (29) (all from Lalmenta) and Prasant Kumar Choudhury (28) of G.Birsinghpur in the district. The car which was used to abduct the youth and a knife was seized from them, police said. Berhampur SP Sarvana Vivek M said the accused abducted Jitendra from his house at knife point. Seeing a police patrol car near Chikiti, Jitendra started screaming for help.
Bighnaraj Das, an assistant sub-inspector of police, who was on patrol duty, tried to stop the vehicle. But he managed to save himself with minor injuries on his left hand as the car tried to knock him down as it sped past. The patrol car then gave chase and finally intercepted the vehicle.
Police said the one of the accused wanted to teach Jitendra a lesson as he kept in touch with his sister despite repeated warnings. The accused got the others together and planned Jitendra's abduction. Police said the accused might have purchased an old car to commit the crime. "We are trying to trace the owner of the car and how the accused managed to procure it," said Mrutunjay Nayak, IIC, K.Nuagaon police station.