In a sigh of relief for his family, city-based businessman Manas Ranjan Das, who was kidnapped from Jharkhand on August 23, 2017 and released by his abductors in Bihar after 40 days, finally reached home on Thursday.
Notably, the businessman’s abductors had demanded a ransom of Rs 5 crore from his family for his release. It is yet to be ascertained whether the ransom was paid or not.
Speaking to the media, Manas said, “I don’t know whether my family members have actually paid ransom to the abductors as they are denying it. But I seriously doubt that they have not paid anything. It is possible that they do not want to get me stressed.”
“The kidnappers left me at a place 15 km away from Ara in Bihar. I took an auto-rickshaw to Ara where the police confronted me suspecting me of being an anti-social due to my looks. But when I informed about my nightmare to them, they took me to the police station and spoke to my wife to cross check my statements. Then, I was allowed to leave for Odisha,” he said.
Manas, who owns a poultry feed processing unit in Hajipur, Bihar and was on his way back home to Bhubaneswar when he was reportedly kidnapped in the Giridh area of Jharkhand on August 23. later, the Giridh police found his abandoned Mercedes Benz car and informed his family about his kidnapping.
However, the businessman’s mother said after his son was abducted, she had to run from pillar to post to secure his release. He knocked at the doors of all those concerned but the response was lukewarm. She thanked lord Jagannath for his son’s release.