Abducted Gonda student rescued in Noida, five held
NOIDA: Five suspects, including a doctor, were arrested by the Noida Special Task Force (Noida STF) and the Gonda police Thursday night from the Greater Noida Expressway for allegedly kidnapping an 18-year-old medical student from Gonda and demanding ₹70 lakh from his family.
Officers said the gang members had allegedly brought the victim to Delhi on January 18, and on Thursday they were shifting him to Agra in a car when the STF team nabbed three suspects and rescued the victim, from the Expressway police station area. Two other suspects were arrested from Gonda. Police said the student was allegedly lured by a Delhi-based ayurvedic doctor, who is absconding.
Shailesh Kumar Pandey, superintendent of police, Gonda, reached Greater Noida Friday morning.
In a joint press conference with the Noida STF, Pandey said that the Gonda police received information about the abduction a day later.
“The victim, Gaurav Haldar, is from Bahraich and studies BAMS (Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery) at a private college in Gonda. Gaurav’s father Nikhil Haldar informed the police on January 19 that Gaurav had gone missing from his college at 3pm on January 18. The family had received two ransom calls from a mobile number demanding ₹70 lakh,” Pandey said. The kidnappers had demanded the money by Friday and threatened consequences, officers said.
A case of abduction was registered against unknown persons under Section 364-A of IPC at Nagar Kotwali. The police launched an investigation and
Gaurav’s roommate told the police that he had allegedly recently been in touch with a woman through the phone, and that the woman had called him before he went missing.
“We put the mobile number on electronic surveillance and traced their movement in Delhi. We also informed the Noida-stf for a joint operation,” he said.
Raj Kumar Mishra, additional superintendent of police, Noida STF, said that the police found that the suspects were allegedly planning to shift to Agra Thursday night. “A joint team reached the Greater Noida Expressway and stopped a suspected Maruti Swift Dzire car for checking. The police arrested three suspects – Dr Abhishek Singh, 32, a BAMS doctor and resident of Wazirganj in Gonda; Nitesh Vihari, 28, a resident of Dholpur in Rajasthan; and Mohit Singh, 30, a resident of Gonda – and rescued the victim. Police recovered a countrymade gun, four live cartridges, and sedatives.”
Officers said Abhishek, the alleged mastermind, revealed he works in a hospital in Nangloi, Delhi. He allegedly told police his cousin Rohit, who lives in Bahraich, was friends with
Mohit. Officers said Mohit attended a gym where he met Nitesh who was allegedly involved in fraudulent activities. They said Rohit had allegedly informed Abhishek that abducting Gaurav could yield a good amount of money.
Additional SP Mishra said that Abhishek then allegedly roped in all these members as well his colleague, Preeti Mehra, 25, also a BAMS doctor.
“The first call was made on January 15. In the next three days, the woman convinced the student to meet her outside his college. On January 18, Preeti, along with the other suspects reached his college and picked him up in a car.
“On the way, Abhishek forcibly administered me sedatives to make me unconscious. I do not know what happened after that and I was brought to Delhi. During the captivity they gave me sedatives multiple times so that I do not resist,” Gaurav alleged after he was rescued.
Rohit and his accomplice Satish, who allegedly helped them get a SIM card on a forged identity, were nabbed by Gonda police. Police are searching for Preeti who is absconding.