Saturday, 11 September 2021 | PNS | Bageshwar
The police special operation group (SOG) from Bageshwar and Almora caught the kidnappers of two teenagers within 24 hours of the complaint being lodged. The kidnappers had demanded a ransom of Rs six lakh. Two of the kidnappers are residents of Bageshwar district and one is a resident of Udham Singh Nagar while another is from Khatima.
According to information received from Kapkot police, on Wednesday Har Singh lodged a police complaint about his son Devendra Singh (16) and his friend Krishna Singh (13) being kidnapped by unknown persons. The kidnappers were demanding a ransom of Rs six lakh. A team led by SOG sub-inspector Kundan Singh Rautela from Bageshwar was dispatched to search for the kidnappers and the kidnapped children. The support of the SOG team of Almora was also taken in this. Based on the location of the kidnapper’s mobile phone, the kidnapped children were rescued from the kidnappers at Khairna Chadha in Nainital on Thursday morning. The kidnapper Vishal Agri (20), Vikas Pandey (19) Kamal Kumar Arya (25) and Neeraj Takuli (20) were arrested by the police.
According to the police, the kidnappers withdrew Rs 25,000 using an ATM card from one of the kidnapped children while Rs 37,000 was transferred through Google Pay. The kidnappers demanded that the remaining amount of the ransom be delivered to them. A sum of Rs 22,000 was recovered from the possession of the accused whose bank accounts have also been frozen while the matter is being investigated further. The four accused were produced in the court on Thursday from where they were 14 days judicial custody in Almora jail.
Deputy inspector general of Kumaon, Nilesh Anand Bharne said, “The kidnapping of two children was very sensitive. Police in all the districts of Kumaon were immediately alerted and the search operation was started. Through team work, the two teens were rescued and four accused caught. The accused were also involved in smuggling narcotics and carried out the kidnapping to make easy money fast. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has announced a cash reward for the team which solved the case.”
