The mastermind behind the sensational kidnapping of Alstom India’s managing director-cum-president Rathin Basu was arrested by the Noida Police from Faridabad on Sunday evening.
Akhand Pratap Singh, a graduate in mechanical engineering from GNIIT institute in Greater Noida, was arrested in a raid conducted jointly by the Noida and Faridabad police in ATF Colony in Faridabad. The kingpin confessed to his crime before the police and is undergoing further interrogation. He admitted that they hatched the conspiracy to kidnap Basu for Rs 1 crore which he needed to purchase a property. Noida Police had activated a network of informers to nab the mastermind behind the kidnapping. Based on a tip-off, the Noida Police contacted Haryana Police and laid a trap by a joint team of Noida and Faridabad Police.
During investigation, it has emerged that Singh belonged to a well-to-do family. His father is a retired Government engineer and he had his own office in Sector-18 Noida and led a luxurious life.
Singh initially denied his hand in the incident eventually owned up to his role. He told the police that he had bought a property worth Rs 1 crore in Faridabad city and was in desperate need of money to close the deal. “He made a plan to kidnap a business big-shot so that he could get the required money as ransom. His old servant Mukesh encouraged him to so and assured him that he will execute the job,” police said.
Both of them targeted Basu and kidnapped him on Friday last week. Singh was so confident about his success that he handed over the keys of his own car and house to his accomplices. The plan was foiled because of language problem as Singh’s associates did not know English or Bengali and Basu’s broken Hindi made his family members suspicious. The family members informed the police without much delay.