The three sisters of lakhimpur Kheri who were kidnapped from outside their house at Singhai by an armed gang on Saturday sending the governnent and the police in a tizzy, were freed only after the family paid up a ransom of Rs 5 lakh and two litres of petrol to the kidnappers. The victims were recovered in the thickets on the fringes of their native hamleton Monday night.
The incident has once again put egg on the face of the lakhimpur Kheri police and the elite Special Task Force which was pressed into service after the CM took serious exception to the incident and its lax handling.
Putting up a brave face, DIG, lucknow Range, DK Choudhary said, “We suspect the kidnappers left the victims in the thickets before escaping. We are combing the area for tracking the accused.” To cover up for the failure of his junior colleaguesm, the DIG said that it was still to be ascertained whether a ransom wasa paid for the release or the release came about owing to pressure mounted by the police.
Meanwhile a kin of the victims disclosed that they paid Rs 5 lakh and two liters of petrol to the kidnappers after which they handed over the victims on Monday night.
He said that after returning home with the victims, the police was informed and a mock drill of combing was started by the police. The kidnappers are reported to have slipped to Nepal.
On Saturday night, the three sisters were sitting around a bonfire outside their home at Singhai with their mother and a domestic help when six men kidnapped them at gunpoint. After walking for some distance, they let the mother and the domestic help go while took away the three sisters on bikes.
The father of the girls, a trader, had initially recieved a call in which the kidnappers demanded a ransom of Rs 50 lakh. However, on Monday, the ransom was lowered to Rs 5 lakh.
“The eldest daughter spoke to her father on Sunday night, asking him to arrange Rs 5 lakh for their release after which her cell phone was switched off,” revealed a senior police officer. The call was made from lakhimpur Kheri indicating that the kidnappers were lurking somewhere in the district.
While making the first ransom call, the kidnapper had identifieid hismelf as infamous gangster Bagga Singh. However, the family ruled out his possible involvement in the act on Monday.
The victims' maternal uncle said, “Bagga Singh is a native of Magha village, which is 3 km from the village and hence everyone knows him. My sister (the girls’ mother) and the domestic help, who were released earlier, did not see Bagga in the group. The girls' father too said that the voice over the phone was not that of Bagga Singh,” he added.