BENGALURU: In a swift operation after the intervention of Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara, the Pavagada police rescued an astrologer from a gang of six treasure hunters recently. The accused had kidnapped Ramanna Swami (55) from the outskirts of Pavagada town while he was on his way to his native Rajavanthi village on his motorcycle on November 2.
They took him away in their car to a place in Bengaluru and by using his phone called his son. They insisted that the Rs 16 lakh they had allegedly paid to Ramanna should be returned for his safe release. Panic-stricken family members of Ramanna contacted former Andhra Pradesh minister N Raghuveera Reddy for help who in turn spoke to Dr G Parameshwara following which the police formed a team to nab the abductors.
Reddy, a veteran Congress leader, is popular in the region and close to Parameshwara as the latter used to take his help during the assembly elections. On November 3 evening, the team of police traced the kidnappers and rescued the astrologer. The accused -- Shivaraj (32) of Kamalanagara and Ananthakrishna (21) of Chikkabanavara in Bengaluru and Naresh (25) of Kothalagudda in Madakasira taluk of Anantapur district in Andhra Pradesh have been arrested and another is still absconding.
The astrologer who was also known for black magic had allegedly promised to guide them to a hidden treasure in the Pavagada region that shares a border with Andhra Pradesh which was infamous for treasure hunting for ages.