4 persons rescued from kidnappers
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Bhubaneswar : Berhampur police has rescued four persons, including a finance company agent of New Delhi, who were kidnapped for Rs 2 crore ransom. They were rescued from an abandoned house in Chikiti area of Ganjam district. Police also came to know that the accused had threatened to kill the victims through snakebite and three snakes have been rescued from the crime scene.
The police also managed to apprehend one of the accused kidnappers, Pruthibiraj Sahu of K Nuagaon area in Ganjam district, during the rescue of the victims. Police have initiated a probe into the matter by registering a case on the basis of a complaint lodged by one of the victims, Amarjit Samanta Singhara (24) of Pahala area in Bhubaneswar.
“It is learnt that the accused Pruthibiraj Sahu and others made a criminal conspiracy and called the complainant and his three other friends to Berhampur on the pretext of finance for one of their projects by a finance company,” said a senior police official on Monday.
Subsequently, the complainant Singhara, with finance agent, Rabindra Kumar of Delhi, and two others from Cuttack, arrived at Berhampur on January 23. “Soon after they arrived at Berhampur, the accused persons took the victims to a place at Golanthara by two vehicles and confined them in a building there. The kidnappers also demanded Rs 2 crore as ransom and threatened that if not paid they would kill them,” added the police official.
Police sources also said that the accused persons assaulted the victims during the confinement. The accused persons shifted the victims and kept them in Kerandimal jungle in Chikiti area. They assaulted the complainant and the financial agent saying theywouldn’t be released until the payment of Rs 2 crore to the accused persons.
On January 26 morning, the complainant, Singhara, managed to escape from the clutches of the accused persons and rushed to Chikiti tehsil office where he narrated the whole matter before the staff. On being informed, K Nuagaon police proceeded to tehsil office and rescued the complainant.
Later, police, along with the complainant, went to the place where they were kept in confinement and rescued the finance agent and other victims. “During the rescue, three snakes that were used to threaten the victims were also found. The Forest department has been intimated and they are taking action for possession of snakes. A case has been registered and investigation is on,” informed the police official.