accused tenants have been arrested and bank manager has been rescued by Haryana Police’s Crime Branch |
New Delhi: A bank manager, who was kidnapped at gunpoint on April 20 from his Faridabad home and taken to Bilaspur and Mathura, has been rescued by Haryana police’s crime branch on Tuesday. The investigation revealed a plan according to which the kidnappers tied Satish, the bank manager, and drove him for 800 km, from Faridabad to Bilaspur and then to Mathura. The kidnapping was allegedly planned by Satish’s former tenant, Bhupendra, and his wife, who have been arrested. Cops are now in search of the third accused on the run, Ravindra, who is a friend of Bhupindra.
Police Statement
Senior police officer Aman Yadav stated that Satish works as a bank manager in Delhi and lives in Sector 62 in Faridabad with his family. His wife is a government employee. Bhupendra, who lived as a tenant in Satish’s house until four months ago, was unemployed. He knew Satish’s family was doing well in terms of money and thus planned to kidnap him and demand ₹50 lakh in ransom.
Kidnapper’s Planning
The plan was hatched by Bhupendra, his wife, and Ravindra, who worked with him at a petrol pump, said the police. Bhupendra and Ravindra inspected the surrounding area near Satish’s house for two to three days before executing the kidnapping plan. Having lived there, Bhupendra knew everything about the family and that the main door was never locked, even at night.
Executing the kidnapping
On the night of April 20, Bhupendra entered Satish’s house. Satish was with his wife and a friend, Amit. Bhupendra pointed a gun at them. When Amit tried to intervene, he was hit with a hammer. Bhupendra then took away the phones and Satish’s car keys and wallet. Satish was asked to get into his car at gunpoint and drive to Rohini. Ravindra joined Bhupendra in Rohini and they left Satish’s car there and put him in a cab. His hands and feet were tied, his mouth gagged, and the rear seat partition was used to hide him. The kidnappers refueled the cab using Satish’s credit card. The next stop was Himachal Pradesh, Bilaspur. Bhupendra’s wife sat in the front to suggest that a family was traveling in the car, police said.
Ransom Call
As they reached Himachal, the kidnappers made the ransom call and demanded ₹ 50 lakh from Satish’s family. By now, police had been notified, and six teams were formed to track down the kidnappers and rescue Satish. Officers of the crime branch were present during the telephonic negotiations. When the family refused to pay ₹ 50 lakh, Bhupendra settled for ₹5 lakh. He asked them to transfer the amount to Satish’s bank account. The family said they did not have the amount in their bank accounts but could agree to pay in cash. Bhupendra asked them to transfer ₹1 lakh to the account and arrange cash.
Rescuing Satish
Satish’s wife was ready to hand over cash to Bhupendra, who had reached Keli bypass to collect the cash. Once she handed over the money, Bhupendra got back into the cab in which he had arrived. The crime branch team awaited his arrival and arrested him. Upon questioning, he confirmed that Satish had been transferred to Mathura and Ravindra was with him. Once Ravindra found out that Bhupendra had been arrested, he fled the Mathura hideout, and the police rescued Satish. He had been hit on the face with the pistol.
On The Run
Bhupendra told police that he had no job for months and needed money, which led him to come up with the plan to kidnap Satish. Police have recovered the cash Satish’s wife handed over to Bhupendra, a pistol, a country-made gun, bullets, and the car used to run the crime. The search for co-accused Ravindra is ongoing.
