Nagpur: In a brazen incident, apparently first of its kind in the history of Nagpur crime, a gang of 10 car-borne desperadoes kidnapped a 45-year old man in filmy style and demanded a staggering ransom of Rs 5 crore or else threatened to kill his wife and son. The abducted man was forced to contact his friends on mobile phone for ransom money and ultimately extracted Rs 1.75 crore for his release. It is allegedly reported that the ransom sum of Rs 1.75 crore was arranged by a jeweller (Rs 75 lakh) and most surprisingly by gangster Raju Bhadre. (Raju Bhadre at present is in jail in connection with a murder case). However, the facts could not be confirmed.
According to sources and reports, the victim Ajay Shyamrao Raut (45), resident of Suraj Gopi Apartment, was returning home around 12 noon on December 13. When Ajay Raut neared his house, a gang of 10 goons travelling in a car like Innova or Tavera and a motorcycle accosted Ajay Raut and forcibly pushed him into the car. After kidnapping Ajay, the gang of abductors blind-folded Ajay in order to keep him in the dark about identity of the offenders and rode him for 2-3 hours within the city roads. The accused abductors repeatedly abused and bashed Ajay in the car and demanded a ransom sum of Rs 5 crore for his release. The gang threatened to kill Ajay’s wife, son and other family members if their ransom demand was not met. When Ajay expressed his helplessness in meeting the demand, the kidnappers forced him to contact his friends on mobile phone and ask them to arrange the ransom sum. Scared to the core, Ajay phoned his friends and requested them to arrange the money. It is learnt that the friends brought Rs 1.75 crore out of Rs 5 crore ransom demand and handed over to the gang of ruffians. As soon as they received the amount, the gang dropped Ajay at a secluded place and fled away.
However, for reasons better known to Ajay Raut, he directly approached Crime Branch of Nagpur Police and submitted an application narrating the entire episode and requesting a in-depth probe into the matter. The Crime Branch, it is reported, initially investigated the case but later forwarded Ajay’s application to Sadar Police Station. Sadar cops on their part informed Pratap Nagar Police Station about receiving of Ajay Raut’s application.
Subsequently, Pratap Nagar PSI Gurnule registered a case under Sections 143, 147, 149, 341, 342, 364(A), 365, 384, 385, 386, 504, 506(B) of IPC against the accused and mounted a massive hunt to nab them.
The most bewildering part of the episode is that the gangster Raju Bhadre allegedly arranged Rs 1 crore out of Rs 1.75 crore that was paid to the gang of abductors as ransom sum. It may be recalled that Raju Bhadre surrendered to police on December 18 as his bail was cancelled by High Court here in connection with a murder case. At present, Raju Bhadre is lodged in Nagpur Central Jail. The kidnapping of Ajay Raut took place on December 13. It is further learnt that the remaining amount of Rs 75 lakh was allegedly arranged by a bullion trader of Sarafa Bazaar in the city.
