New Delhi:
A bank manager, who was kidnapped at gunpoint on Saturday from his home in Faridabad to Himachal Pradesh's Bilaspur and then to Mathura, has been rescued thanks to quick action by the Crime Branch of Haryana Police. The investigation revealed a chilling plan in which the kidnappers tied up Satish and drove him 800 km, first to Bilaspur and then to Mathura. The plot was allegedly hatched by Satish's former tenant Bhupendra. The main suspect and his wife, who allegedly helped him, have been arrested and police are now looking for another suspect.
According to senior police officer Aman Yadav, Satish works as a bank manager in Delhi and is a resident of Sector 62 in Faridabad. His wife is a government official. Bhupendra, who lived as a tenant in Satish's house until four months ago, was jobless. He knew Satish's family was well off and planned to kidnap him and demand a ransom, the police officer said.
The plan was hatched by Bhupendra, his wife and Ravindra, his former colleague at a petrol pump, police said. Bhupendra and Ravindra explored the area near Satish's house for two to three days before the kidnapping. Living there, Bhupendra knew that the main door is not locked even at night.
Late Saturday evening he entered the house. Satish was with his wife and a friend. Bhupendra pointed a gun at them. When Satish's friend Amit tried to intervene, he hit him with a hammer, police said. Bhupendra took away Satish's wife and Amit's phones. He also took Satish's car keys and wallet. At gunpoint, Satish was asked to get into his car and drive to Rohini. At Rohini, Ravindra joined Bhupendra. Satish's car was left there and the suspect put him in a taxi. His hands and feet were tied, his mouth gagged, and the partition in the backseat hid him. The kidnappers refueled the taxi using Satish's credit card. The next stop was Himachal. Bhupendra's wife sat in the front seat to suggest a family was in the car, police said.
Once in Himachal, the kidnappers made a ransom call and demanded Rs 50 lakh from Satish's family. By now, the police had been informed and six teams had been formed to track down the kidnappers and rescue Satish. Officers from the crime branch were present during the telephone negotiations. When the family said they could not afford Rs 50 lakh, Bhupendra settled for Rs 5 lakh. He asked them to transfer the amount to Satish's bank account. The family says they do not have the amount in their bank account, but they can arrange cash. Bhupendra asked them to transfer Rs 1 lakh to the account and settle the rest in cash.
Yesterday, Bhupendra reached Keli bypass to collect Satish's wife's money. After she handed over the money, he got into the taxi he came in. The crime branch team waited and he was arrested. When questioned, he revealed that Satish had been taken to Mathura and Ravindra was with him. When he came to know that Bhupendra had been arrested, Ravindra fled from Mathura's hideout and the police rescued Satish. He had been hit in the face with the gun.
Bhupendra told police that he had been out of work for months and needed money, which prompted him to commit the crime. Police have recovered the money that Satish's wife had handed over to Bhupendra, a pistol, a country-made weapon, bullets and the car used in the crime. The search is on for co-suspect Ravindra, who is on the run.