Man fakes his kidnapping for wives’ sympathy

THANE: A man from Kalyan planned his own kidnapping with the help three friends to gain sympathy from both his wives, who he claimed were not treating him well. Cops traced him four days after the episode at his friend’s house in Shahapur, Thane district, where he was hiding. He was arrested subsequently.

Sunita Gaikwad, a 32-year-old woman visited the Kolsewadi police station on October 14 and registered a case of kidnapping of her husband, Sandip Gaikwad, 36.

According to her complaint, the couple were speaking to each other casually after parking their scooty at Satkar Tower, on JP Road, Kalyan East, when three people drove up to them in an autorickshaw. The trio started beating up Sandip and drove off with him in the three-wheeler. Sunita is Sandip’s second wife (they were married in a temple), although he is yet to divorce his first wife. After registering a case of kidnapping, Kolsewadi police started their investigation. They scanned the CCTV footage and located the rickshaw and its driver. The driver informed the investigating officers that three men -- Javed Khan, Akash

Abhang and Avi Patil – had rented his vehicle for a day, saying they needed to pick up a man from a certain location. “They beat up the man, took him in the rickshaw and after two kilometres. The kidnapped man then threw a burkha on himself and drove off on Patil’s scooty,” said an investigating officer. Cops have confirmed it as a case of fake kidnapping. Police nabbed Javed from Waldhuni, in Ulhasnagar, on October 18, whereupon the latter narrated the saga. He said, Gaikwad’s mother-in-law (Sunita’s mother) had offered them ₹50,000 to kidnap him, as she wanted Gaikwad out of her daughter’s life. It turned out to be a false claim – it’s a story they had cooked up for the police, to protect themselves.

Senior police inspector, Mahendra Deshmukh said, “Gaikwad, who planned the kidnapping with his friends blamed his mother-in-law for his second wife’s rude behaviour towards him. His first wife does not live with him either. So, he planned the act and asked his friends to put the blame on his mother-inlaw, hoping that it would evoke sympathy in both his wives. We have arrested all accused.”

HT PHOTO The arrested husband