City caterer’s son kidnapped, rescued within 40 hrs; 2 held

LUCKNOW: The 22-year-old son of a city caterer, kidnapped for ₹ 5 lakh ransom from Bazarkhala area on Wednesday morning, was rescued within 40 hours on Thursday night.

The police arrested the two kidnappers and recovered a mobile phone used in making the ransom call.

Additional superintendent of police (ASP) West Vikas Chandra Tripathi said the two kidnappers, Raj Kumar Gautam and Anil Kumar Gautam, lived close to the victim’s house on Mill road and were his friends.

They had held the victim Ravi Kumar Rathore hostage at their relative’s house in a Hardoi village without letting him know that he had been kidnapped. Kumar was apparently drugged through food to make him sleep and was semi-conscious when he was recovered, said the ASP.

Tripathi said the victim’s father Raj Kumar Rathore, a renowned caterer and resident of Mill road in Aishbagh, lodged a complaint with Bazarkhala police about the kidnapping of his son after receiving a ransom call from an unknown mobile number on Wednesday night. The kidnappers demanded ₹ 5 lakh for the safe release of his son and threatened him with dire consequences if he did not pay.

The ASP said the victim had disappeared after he left his house on Wednesday morning, informing his family members that he was going to his friends.

He said the complainant suspected the two accused as they were often in his son’s company and were missing after his disappearance.

The police found the victim’s motorcycle parked outside the suspects’ house in Karheta locality on Mill road and arrested the duo from the house.

The mobile phone and SIM card used in making the ransom call were also recovered from their possession.

“The victim was later rescued safely from their relative’s house in Hardoi’s Ataria locality and brought back to Lucknow,” the ASP said.

Tripathi said the two kidnappers disclosed that they took the victim to Hardoi on the pretext of some work and made him sleep after giving him a meal.

He said the meal apparently contained some sedatives to make the victim sleep for long and he was still not able to realise that he was kidnapped by his friends who often spent the entire day with him.