BENGALURU: Four miscreants who had allegedly kidnapped and robbed a ‘munajjim’ (astrologer) were arrested by Sampigehalli police.
The victim, who was kidnapped in a car in June-end, was taken to a forest area near Tumakuru and assaulted with lethal weapons.
They then took him to a bank and forced him to transfer Rs 4.5lakh. The gang had escaped after pushing him out of the car near Dabaspet.
After arresting the accused, police found out that one of the accused had availed the services of the victim, but there was no progress as assured by him.
Frustrated over this, the gang robbed him to recover the money paid as fees. The arrested accused have been identified as Arif and Adil, both natives of Tumakuru, Imran of Chikkabanavara, and Kadeer of RT Nagar.
Baba abducted, confined and assaulted by gang
The case came to light after the victim, Mohammad Tariq Hussain, a ‘baba’ residing in Yelahanka, lodged a complaint with police. The accused had meticulously planned the kidnapping.
A few days before the incident, prime accused Arif contacted Hussain over phone and requested him to visit his house to perform a special prayer for the peace and well-being of his family.
Hussain was unable to visit Arif’s house for three days due to personal reasons. Angered by the delay, Arif called the baba on June 29 and said he would send a car to pick him up. The accused allegedly forced him into the car and abducted him.
Four men allegedly attacked him with weapons. After the assault, they forced him to reveal his phone password and UPI PIN. Arif allegedly transferred Rs 13,000 from the victim’s account to his own.
The gang allegedly kept the baba confined throughout the night and subjected him to further torture. The injured victim later managed to reach Sampigehalli police station and lodged a complaint.