VISAKHAPATNAM: Finally, the Gopalapatnam police on Thursday confirmed that it was 20-year-old G Manikanta who had orchestrated his kidnap to extort money from his parents.
Manikanta and his three friends-D Taraka Venkatesh, V Arun Tej and P Mani Kumar-who had helped him in the entire episode, were arrested on charges criminal conspiracy, cheating and extortion on Thursday.
During the interrogation, Manikanta confessed that he had resorted to the tactic to extort money from his parents to clear his debts and to lead a lavish life.
According to police, Taraka Venkatesh, among the accused, is an ex-offender having around 20 theft cases against him reported from Gajuwaka, Pendurthi, Gopalapatnam and Parawada limits. He was also allegedly involved in a murder case at Parawada.
“Manikanta is addicted to smoking and drinking and has a craze for expensive bikes. He bought a few of them by taking loans. With the lenders pestering him to repay the money, Manikanata, along with his friends, had hatched a plan to enact the kidnap drama,” Gopalapatnam inspector Vykunta Rao said while producing all the accused before the media.
On July 24 evening, Manikanta and three other accused stayed in one of their friend’s house, who was unaware of the plan.
The next day, they went to an isolated place at Kothavalasa and rang up Manikanta’s sister. “Prior to the phone call, Manikanta instructed his friends how to threaten his family members. He too spoke to sister saying that his abductors would kill him, unless they were paid a ransom of `15 lakh,” said Vykunta Rao.
After the phone call, Venkatesh and Mani Kumar checked into a lodge in Gajuwaka. They went to Manikanta’s house to find out that whether they were going to lodge any police complaint.
Both were in frequent contact with Manikanta, giving them information from time to time.
However, the police teams spoke to a few friends of the youth and came to know about the debts of Manikanta. The cops picked up Venkatesh, who spilled the beans.
The four accused will be remanded to the court, the police said.