The Delhi Police Crime Branch has arrested two members of an inter-State gang of kidnappers who were holding two persons from Shillong and Mizoram hostages after a drug deal brokered by the latter went awry.
The two hostages identified as C Zosangliana and his uncle lalneisung were rescued and their kidnappers, identified as Sunil Kumar Thapa and Mohammad Ali, were arrested, said Ravindra Yadav, Joint Commissioner of Police, (Crime Branch).
lalneisung is a resident of Shillong while C Zosangliana is a native of Aizawl and has a rented accommodation in Uttam Nagar where he visits often.
Dorothy, wife of lalneisung got registered a kidnapping for ransom case at Madanrting police station in Shillong. She told police that her husband had gone to Delhi in the first week of September, said Yadav.
On September 21, she was informed through Zosangliana’s wife Jessica that their husbands had been kidnapped and the abductors were demanding Rs 15 lakh ransom, he said, adding the local police failed to make any breakthroughs.
Meanwhile, the kidnappers increased the ransom amount to Rs 15 lakh from each family of the hostages through calls made from the mobile phones of victims, said the officer.
Dorothy gave close to Rs 4.40 lakh while Jessica paid Rs 5 lakh for the release of her husband. On September 24, Dorothy’s relative Hrong Kplein, who received a ransom call from kidnappers, filed a complaint with Delhi Crime Branch, he said.
Under a team led by DCP, Crime Branch, G Ram Gopal Naik, raids were conducted in Agra and Delhi after the locations of the mobile phones of the victims was traced at two places.
The team conducted raids in Agra but the kidnappers managed to escape from there. On Sunday, the team received a tip-off about the kidnappers being close to Anand Vihar Bus Terminal Road and arrested the accused from there, Naik said.
lalneisung is an ex-serviceman and took voluntarily retirement as HC from Assam Rifles. Durign interrogation, lalneisung revealed that he came in contact with Ashish, who introduced himself as a retired Colonel of the Indian Army, in 2014.
Ashish offered him to join his business of supplying chemical (pseudoephedrine) and asked lalneisung to bring some customers to buy this chemical, Yadav said.
Pseudoephedrine is a nasal decongestant and if used in a large quantity, it acts as a stimulant, said Naik. lalneisung told about the offer to C Zosangliana and asked him to find potential buyers of the chemical, the Joint CP added.
C Zosangliana knew Thapa and discussed with him. Thapa discussed it with a drug peddler Ghani Bhai who showed interest in buying this chemical. After that, a series of meetings were held in the second week of September, 2016 in Delhi between the two parties.