A man held hostage for a ransom of ₹3 lakh after a “blind date” in Jhansi district of Uttar Pradesh was rescued by the police on Saturday, reported news agency PTI.
The perpetrators, three people including one woman - Akhilesh Ahirwar (30), Satish Singh Bundela (27) and Kiran (35), were arrested by the police as well.
During the interrogation they revealed that there are several women in their gang, who call a man over the phone and ask him to meet in Jhansi, after which they hold them hostage for a ransom once they meet.
Superintendent of police of Lalitpur, Mohammad Mushtaq told PTI that the victim Lallu Chaubey (50) had travelled to Jhansi on Friday and was then asked for a ransom amount of ₹3 lakh after being kidnapped.
Out of the total ransom account, Chaubey had already paid ₹1 lakh. The police launched an investigation after Lallu Chaubey's son filed a complaint that he had been kidnapped and that they had received a ransom call.
Multiple teams of police were formed to find the man and a constable, posing as the son of the victim, went to give the ransom.
Action is being taken against the arrested accused under the Gangster Act and an investigation is underway to trace other gang members, the SP added.
Earlier in the year, a woman and her child had also kidnapped by a gang in Kushinagar, where they notably sent a ransom request with a QR code. However, progress was not quick as in this case, and the perpetrators were not caught nor the victims returned safely back home.
