Abducted software engineer rescued

Asoftware engineer who was abducted a week ago from here, was rescued yesterday in a joint operation by the Uttar Pradesh Police and its Special Task Force (STF), an officer said.

HCL engineer Rajeev Kumar was abducted on the night of May 23 from a bus stand in Raj Nagar Extension while he was returning from his Noida office. He was waiting to board a bus to Haridwar.

The kidnappers demanded a ransom of Rs1.5 million and had kept him in captivity for eight days, an STF officer said.

According to Senior Superintendent of Police Vaibhav Krishna, two police constables and two of Kumar’s kidnappers sustained bullet injuries during the rescue operation near Brave Heights apartment in Raj Nagar extension.

Kumar was rescued from a house in Prahlad Garhi village under Indirapuram police station.

“When the police cornered the kidnappers, they opened fire. Three kidnappers including the two injured were later arrested,” Krishna said.

The arrested kidnappers were identified as Mahesh Mishra, Sharad Sharma and Rinku.

The kidnapper gang busted by the police consisted of young criminals who would abduct upper middle-class professionals after doing a recce of their movements, an officer said.

ADG (Law and Order) Anand Kumar told IANS that the kidnappers “were using WhatsApp” to keep in contact.