BENGALURU: A day after the former minister Varthur Prakash filed a case of kidnap against some unknown persons, who, on November 25, had allegedly kidnapped him and his driver Suneel for a Rs 30 crore ransom, many unanswered questions have emerged in the episode.“Why was no missing person complaint filed by Prakash’s family members for three days, when he was held hostage between November 25 and 27? Was he in touch with his family? His call detail records (CDRs) will be investigated to find out more details,” said highly placed police sources. “Prakash did not give any reasons for the delay in filing a kidnap case.
He had initially refused to file a written police complaint,” the sources pointed out.A senior police officer told The New Indian Express that the former minister came to the police station only after the Bellandur police found his SUV abandoned near Alanahalli lake and alerted him.
“He admitted that it was his vehicle and then explained what had happened. He, however, refused to file a complaint with the police. He agreed to file a written complaint only when the police asked him to do so,” said the officer. The FIR is registered against unknown people. “He should have told the police who he suspects to be behind the crime,” the officer added.
Prakash meets Bommai, given gunman
According to the police, Prakash also “refused to answer whether he was in contact with his family members on the phone during the time he was in the custody of the kidnappers,” the officer added.
The police are also probing why the private hospital in KR Puram, where Prakash was admitted with severe injuries, did not register a medico-legal case with the local police. “We were told that Prakash had requested the hospital staff not to inform the police about the incident. Even after he was discharged, Prakash did not approach either the Kolar or Bengaluru police about his kidnap,” the officer added.
Prakash, however, later informed reporters in Kolar that the delay in filing a complaint was because the kidnappers had threatened to kill him and his family members if he did so. The police also pointed out that Prakash was “not co-operative when the police asked him how his friend Nayaz had arranged Rs 48 lakh in cash at short notice after the former asked him to give the money to his kidnappers.”
Meanwhile, Prakash on Wednesday met Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai and explained his alleged kidnap and demanded a speedy investigation. A senior officer said the police visited the areas where the kidnappers had taken Prakash on the city’s outskirts and tortured him. They also collected CCTV footage. As the case happened in Kolar jurisdiction, it has been handed over to them for investigation, but the city police will assist them.
Prakash’s phone calls are being analysed and he had spoken to several people before he left the farmhouse on November 25. On Wednesday, the police recorded the statement of Prakash’s driver Suneel, who escaped from the kidnappers and is presently undergoing treatment at a private hospital.
Prakash on Wednesday spoke to the media and said he neither had enemies in politics nor any financial disputes. The gang just wanted to extort money from him, he claimed. Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai told TNIE, “After Prakash told me about the incident, I have asked the city police commissioner and Kolar Superintendent of Police to look into the matter.”KGF SP Ilakkiya Karunakaran said Prakash has been provided a gunman.