Three daughters of rich farmer abducted in Lakhimpur Kheri
LAKHIMPUR KHERI: Six armed men abducted a wealthy farmer’s three daughters from Kharigarh village in Lakhimpur Kheri district on Saturday night and demanded a ransom of `50 lakh.
Upma Gupta, 23, Rohini 19 and Santoshi, 17, were abducted when they were sitting around a bonfire with their mother Munni Devi and domestic worker Tara outside their home around 9pm. Their father Rambali Gupta was away at the time.
Munni Devi told Hindustan Times, “The armed goons first enquired about my husband Rambali by name.” When they were told that Rambali was away, the abductors held all of them at gunpoint and took them to a graveyard, about one km away from the house. They had hidden three motorcycles at the graveyard.
“The abductors forced my daughters to sit on their bikes and asked me to arrange `50 lakh for their safe release,” Munni Devi said.
“One of the daughters resisted, but she was thrashed and forced to sit on a bike which sped off into the adjoining dense forests of the Dudhwa National Park,” she added.
Munni Devi’s brother Rajiv Gupta told HT that he called Singahi police station officer and the police room control number.
“However, when there was no response, I called the chief minister residence after which police swung into action,” he added. Rajiv Gupta said the abductors made a ransom call to Rambali Gupta from the mobile phone of one of the victims, demanding the money within 24 hours. The mobile phone was switched off afterwards.
Police officers from over half a dozen police stations were deployed to carry out intensive search operations in the dense jungles. Dudhwa National Park and the Sashastra Seema Bal officials were asked to cooperate in the combing. The three sisters and their abductors remained untraceable. Hundreds of villagers are assisting in combing operations. Kheri district police chief Akhilesh Chaurasia told HT: “Over 50 teams of police and local villagers have been formed to trace the miscreants.” Special Task Force personnel have also been called in to help in the combing operation.
Deputy inspector general of police (DIG) DK Chaudhary was camping in Singahi to monitor the police operations. He said, “Surveillance has been carried out but non-availability of mobile networks is creating hurdles.” He claimed some vital clues had been obtained. Meanwhile, locals said they suspected the involvement of a criminal Bagga Singh who had been extorting money from wealthy people of the area. But police neither confirmed nor denied the possibility.