Four held for abducting Guj businessman; extorting Rs 35 lakh

The Gujarat Anti-TerroristSquad (ATS) has detained four persons from Rajasthan forallegedly kidnapping a businessman from Kutch district andextorting a ransom of Rs 35 lakh, an official said on Tuesday.

While two of the accused Suresh Soni (34) and RakeshSoni (25) were nabbed from Jaipur, Trilok Chauhan (31) andSandip Singh (26) were apprehended from their village in Alwardistrict of Rajasthan, the official said.

The key accused Manoj Vyas, a native of Sikar inRajasthan, is still on the run, he said.

According to an ATS release, five men had abductedGandhidham-based businessman Mukesh Agrawal at gunpoint afterintercepting his car on January 19, following which they tookhim to Rajasthan.

The victim was held captive at different places inSanchor, Jodhpur Road and Jaipur, it was stated.

The accused somehow managed to extort a ransom of Rs35 lakh from Agrawal's kin and released him after two days,the release said.

In a complaint lodged with Gandhidham police, Agrawalafter his release had alleged that the accused also taken awayhis mobile phone worth Rs 60,000, it stated.

Primary investigations revealed that Vyas had hatchedthe plan and roped in four other accused to kidnap Agrawal,the official said.

Vyas had worked for a company owned by Agrawal'sbrother 10 years ago, and he knew about the victim and wasconfident that a huge sum can be extorted as ransom from him,the release said.

The four arrested accused have been handed over toGandhidham police for further action, he added.