The Crime Branch arrested two persons, including the son of a retired Indian Air Force officer, for allegedly kidnapping two Haryana-based businessmen and asking for Rs2 crore ransom after one of them pleaded to be let free so that he could arrange the cash.
“Solved within a span of two hours, the Crime Branch team safely rescued Kamal from the clutches of the two kidnappers who had held him hostage at Hotel Jeevetesh in Karol Bagh. The duo fed food to Kamal. Just like a bollywood movie, the accused had tied Kamal to a chair,” said a senior investigator.
The two accused, Manjeet Singh Grewal and Vijay Kumar, were arrested on Tuesday night from a hotel in Central Delhi’s Karol Bagh area, said DCP(crime) Madhur Verma. The accused have been in the property business for the last 15-20 years. However, they had suffered huge losses in business in the last four-five years and were under huge debt. “They were fond of lavish lifestyle, but due to money crisis, they were facing acute problems in fulfilling their daily needs.
“To overcome their financial problems, they planned to abduct the complainant. They were aware about the sound financial position of the complainant and were sure that he would shell out the ransom amount without informing police,” said Verma.
On March 28, a Haryana-based businessman approached the Crime Branch with a complaint that his fellow businessman was being held captive by the two accused. The complainant, who is engaged in road construction business, knew Grewal through a common friend. For the last few days, Grewal was contacting him for helping him in getting a road tender in National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
“Relying on Grewal, the complainant, along with his partner, came to Delhi, and met Grewal and his associate Vijay.
The accused brought the businessmen duo to a hotel on the pretext of meeting with an officer of NHAI,” said the officer.
The accused then held them captive and demanded Rs2 crore as ransom and threatened them.
“The complainant requested the accused that if they release him, he would bring the ransom amount. He was released with the threat that if he does anything untoward, his partner would be killed,” he said.
He tried to arrange the ransom, but could not and later, he contacted police. A team led by ACP Sanjay Sehrawat ACP was constituted and after a scuffle, the two accused were nabbed and the victim was rescued.
A revolver with 11 live cartridges, made in ordinance factory, Kanpur and issued in the name of one Sunil, Grewal’s brother-in-law has also been recovered along with a car. Vijay’s father had retired as an airman from the Indian Air Force, said another officer.