Navy sailor abducted from city, burnt alive in Maha
CHENNAI: A sailor with the Indian Navy working in Coimbatore was kidnapped from the city outskirts and later burnt alive in a forest near Palghar, Maharashtra, on Friday night by alleged kidnappers.
A native of Ranchi, Suraj Kumar Dubey (26), attached to INS Agrani at Coimbatore, was last spotted at Chennai airport on the night of January
30 after he flew here via Hyderabad. Dubey arrived around 9.45 pm and went to the Metro station at the airport but returned as there was no service after 10 pm.
He was later seen heading towards Tirusulam railway station. “But after that his whereabouts are not known,” an official said. Police suspect he could have been abducted outside Chennai as his mobile phone’s last location was traced at Otteri near Vandalur in Chengalpattu district.
On Friday night, locals near Palghar spotted him running and he was burning. He was rushed to the hospital where he died on Saturday. The deceased, in his final statement, told police he was kidnapped from Chennai airport at gun point and kept in a room in the forest near Palghar.The abductors allegedly demanded Rs 10 lakh and as his family had informed the police about it, he was set on fire, according to reports. A three-member Maharashtra police team arrived at Chennai airport on Sunday afternoon and are conducting investigations. Police noted that Dubey’s debit card was used, possibly by suspects, to withdraw money from an ATM in Koyambedu.