Mumbai: Three arrested for kidnapping youth at Borivli

The three alleged accused

The Kasturba Marg police have arrested three men who are allegedly part of a cyber fraud gang for kidnapping a youth. Allegations suggest that the kidnappers are members of a cybercrime gang who lure individuals to open bank accounts. These accounts are then exploited to deposit or transfer fraudulently obtained funds through cybercrimes.

According to police sources, the suspects allegedly abducted a 23-year-old youth in a car from Borivli on Friday night. As the car proceeded towards Dahisar, the victim's cry for help drew the attention of traffic police at the check naka. The traffic cops intercepted the vehicle around 10 pm. On seeing the police approach the vehicle, one of the suspects alighted from the car and fled. The youth identified as Sonu Singh told police that he had been kidnapped. The traffic police detained all individuals involved and took them to Kashimira police station. After listening to Singh's account, the police handed over the suspects and the victim to the Kasturba Marg police station.

The Kasturba Marg police have filed the case under various sections of IPC and arrested the three men - Tushar Chakorkar, Pawan Kir, and Dilkhush Teli, while the police are on the lookout for the accused identified as Saurabh who fled the police. Singh runs a placement agency from Goregaon. According to his statement, in February, two individuals, Tushar and Saurabh, approached him through Just Dial, claiming to be in the trading business and seeking people for marketing and share trading. They expressed their lack of proper residential address and requested Singh to arrange and open current bank accounts for them under the name of his company. Initially hesitant, Singh relented when they offered him money and he opened two current bank accounts using his documents and company name.

However, when the accused demanded all documents, including ATM cards and passbooks, Singh became suspicious and refused to comply. Subsequently, the accused kidnapped Singh's friend, Mittu Dass, 26, from Andheri and took him to Pune, torturing him to pressure Singh into providing the bank documents. Dass managed to escape and return to Mumbai last week. Meanwhile, the accused lured Singh into a meeting near the Sanjay Gandhi National Park under the pretext of offering another job opportunity. Singh was forcibly kidnapped and they attempted to take him to Pune, said a police officer.

Dass, speaking to mid-day, described how the suspects kidnapped him and took him to a hotel in Pune, where they assaulted him in an attempt to pressure Singh. Dass managed to escape when his kidnappers had fallen asleep. "We are investigating the matter seriously, exploring every possible angle to determine whether these accused are indeed members of a cyber crime gang. They are currently in police remand," said a police officer from Katurba Marg police station.

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No of suspects named in FIR