Kanpur lab technician untraced amid row over ransom; police to probe SHO, his team

A police spokesperson said in Kanpur that a departmental inquiry was ordered against the Station House Officer, Barra, and his team who allegedly asked S Yadav's family to arrange the money.

A Kanpur lab technician remained untraced on Wednesday amid allegations that a Rs 30 lakh ransom was paid by his family in the presence of police. A police spokesperson said in Kanpur that a departmental inquiry was ordered against the Station House Officer, Barra, and his team who allegedly asked S Yadav's family to arrange the money. S Yadav's family said they did not pay any ransom, but later they claimed they did, but had to change their statement under police pressure. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also waded in, slamming the Yogi Adityanath government over law and order situation in the state.

S Yadav's family had on Monday claimed he was abducted on June 22, and they paid the ransom money, but his captors did not free him. They said they threw a bag containing the money on a railway track, as asked. However, Yadav's sister Ruchi told reporters in Kanpur on Wednesday, "There was no money in the bag. We talked about the money as someone suggested us to do so. We were upset as my brother could not be traced. I hope police will trace him soon.” But, later in the day, Ruchi said she made the U-turn under duress. She also named a crime branch official, who she alleged visited her home and convinced her to say that no ransom was paid.

"He said ‘Ruchi your brother can be in danger if you give this statement. He (abductor) might feel belittled and could do something to your brother. What will you do then? You want your brother or this media attention!' I agreed to him after he said so. He then recorded a video of my statement and made it viral. I said all this (that we did not pay Rs 30 lakh) under his pressure,” she claimed. Asked specifically whether there was money in the bag, she said, "Yes there was.” She also claimed her father, cousin brother, his friends and a police team allegedly carried the money bag to hand it over. “The SSP has assured us that my brother will be found in four days,” she claimed.

An FIR in the abduction case has been registered at Barra police station in Kanpur. Superintendent of Police, South, Aprana Gupta said, "The claim of payment of Rs 30 lakh is not true. When they were asked about the source of money, they could not give satisfactory answers. As the family is disturbed, we have adopted a sympathetic attitude towards them. Police teams are working to trace the missing man." But Ruchi said, “The day my brother returns, I will tell where we arranged the money from. The issue now is that I want my brother back." An police spokesperson said in Kanpur that Circle Officer (Babupurwa), Alok Singh, has been asked to probe the role of the SHO and his team and submit a report to the SSP at the earliest. “If inquiry findings proved them guilty, they will be punished severely,” the spokesperson added. Alok Singh told the PTI that the inquiry has been initiated against the police personnel. "The charges would be probed properly and findings submitted to the SSP very soon." On Tuesday SSP, Kanpur Dinesh Kumar P had said, "I am taking cognisance of media report in which payment of ransom of Rs 30 lakh has come to the fore. I am talking to the aggrieved family. If anyone is wrong, they will be punished.” Citing the kidnapping case, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra flayed the Yogi Adityanath government over the alleged deteriorating law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh. In a Facebook post, she claimed a young man was kidnapped by miscreants in Kanpur and his family was asked for a ransom for his release. "The family collected Rs 30 lakh by selling their house and wedding jewellery. At the behest of the police, the family handed over the bag full of money to the kidnappers and the police could neither catch the miscreants, nor their son could be freed," she said. The family members of the kidnapped man are distraught, the Congress general secretary in-charge UP East added. "This is a case from Kanpur where such a big incident had taken place a few days ago. Now you can imagine the state of law and order in UP," Gandhi said, referring to the gangster Vikas Dubey case. Attacking the BJP government over the issue, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav had earlier asked as to who was giving patronage to the criminals who did not even fear the police and fled with the ransom money. "It seems morality of the BJP government has also been kidnapped," he had said in a tweet in Hindi..