BHUBANESWAR/BALANGIR : Balangir police have arrested four persons, including a female sub-inspector and a journalist from Bhubaneswar for allegedly kidnapping a businessman on August 14 and attempting to extort Rs 50 lakh ransom by implicating him in a false case.
The accused have been identified as SI Sneha Manjari Sahoo posted in Commissionerate Police headquarters, her brother Kshitij Chandra Sahoo, journalist Sanjay Jena who works with a regional newspaper here and real estate broker Sanjit Behera. While Sneha and Sanjay were arrested on Monday, the other two had been apprehended on August 15.
Police said, the victim Narendra Sahoo from Balangir has multiple businesses like real estate, hotel and hospitality, among others. The entire kidnapping conspiracy had been hatched by Kshitij.
On August 14, Sanjit allegedly asked Narendra to visit a site on the outskirts of Balangir town on the pretext of showing him a plot. As he reached there, Sanjit and Kshitij along with three to four others who were already present there, allegedly forced Narendra into an SUV and brought him to Bhubaneswar. He was allegedly kept captive in a hotel in Khandagiri area. They also drove his car to the capital city.
When Narendra did not return home, the family became suspicious and informed Puintala police of the matter. During investigation, police tracked Narendra’s last mobile phone location to Bhubaneswar.
Police said the accused assaulted Narendra in the hotel room and compelled him to record a fake video holding a gun and threatening Kshitij by brandishing the weapon. They also recorded another video where they forced Narendra to confess that he had borrowed `50 lakh from Kshitij and would return the amount soon.
On August 15, the accused took Narendra to Khandagiri police station where SI Sneha and journalist Sanjay were present. Kshitij alleged Narendra had threatened him at gunpoint and refused to pay his money. He claimed that some of his associates were present with him and they managed to overpower Narendra and bring him to Khandagiri police station.
Basing on the complaint, Sneha and Sanjay asked Narendra to write an undertaking mentioning he would return Rs 50 lakh which he had borrowed from Kshitij. Kshitij then submitted a complaint addressing the Khandagiri IIC, alleging that Narendra had threatened him at gunpoint.
In the meantime, Balangir police had arrived in the city after tracking Narendra’s last known location. While they were present in the police station, Narendra somehow managed to take the mobile phone of a lower rank personnel and contacted his son stating he had been detained in a false case.
On receiving the information, Balangir police team rushed to Khandagiri police station, rescued Narendra and arrested Kshitij.
Balangir SP Abilash G said, “The accused Kshitij maintained that he had given Rs 2.7 crore to the victim in 2019 to purchase a Hanuman coin. However, no such transaction was established between the two,” said the SP.
Police said the CCTV footage of the hotel where the complainant had been held captive clearly established that he was kidnapped. A search operation is on to nab the others involved in the crime, they said.