“Honey-trapped” and kidnapped by a Haryana-based gang, Punjab’s engineering student has been rescued by the Punjab Police on Friday.
“The kidnapping case of the youth from Kharar was cracked in less than 48 hours after the arrest of three people who had honey trapped him and demanded a ransom of Rs 50 lakh,” said Deputy Inspector General of Police, Ropar Range, Gurpreet Singh Bhullar, while addressing the media.
Bhulllar, who is also DIG of the Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF), said that the Police teams have safely rescued the victim identified as Hitesh Bhumla, a student of BE at Chandigarh University Gharuan, who was held captive in sedated condition at a rented accommodation in Ranjit Nagar, Kharar. The kidnappers were demanding Rs 50 lakh as ransom from the parents of the boy.
Those arrested have been identified as Ajay Kadian (25) of Jattal village in Panipat, Haryana; Ajay (22) of Aabood village in Sirsa, Haryana; and Rakhi of Baroli village in Sonipat, Haryana. The Police have also recovered one Honda City Car, five mobile phones, and one .32 bore pistol along with nine bullets from their possession.
DIG Bhullar said that the police had received a complaint from Hitesh’s parents that their son had gone missing and kidnappers are demanding Rs 50 lakh ransom from them.
Acting promptly, the Police teams registered the first information report (FIR) under sections 364-A and 365 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Police Station Sadar Kharar, and immediately different police teams were formed and an intelligence-led operation was initiated, he said.
He said that the team, led by DSP Gursher Singh, Incharge CIA Inspector Shiv Kumar, along with teams of CIA, Kurukshetra, was able to nab the accused and recover the victim on early Friday morning. It bears special mention that District Police Ambala, Haridwar, and Ghaziabad were active in identifying and nabbing the accused, he added.
Mohali SSP Vivek Sheel Soni said that during the investigation, it has been found that the girl Rakhi had made fake social media profiles and after befriending the target on Instagram and Facebook, lured him into meeting her. “Upon meeting, she, along with her accomplices, kidnapped the victim and demanded ransom from his parents to release him,” he said. Further investigations are on, he added.