Kidnappers land in police net when they try to sell hijacked auto used in recent abduction to make some extra money.

Perfect crime,foiled by greed

Kidnappers land in police net when they try to sell hijacked auto used in recent abduction to make some extra money.

The lure of making an extra buck over and above the ransom received from a recent kidnapping led to a gang of kidnappers landing in the police's net.

Not a minor issue: The police recovered Rs 1.5 lakh in cash and some
weapons from them. Pic/Sanjay MD

Four youth hijacked an auto rickshaw to carry out their plan of kidnapping a bar manager. They pulled off the kidnapping successfully and managed to flee but were caught when they tried to sell the stolen auto. During investigation, the police realised that the same gang was also behind the kidnapping.

Francis V (19), S Manoj (20), G Prashant (18) and S Sheikh Basha Khan (19) were regulars at the Chaitra Bar on Bommanahalli Road. They observed that the bar manager, Jagannath, used to go to the Gangotri bar nearby to deposit the money collected that day at a specific time every night. The owner of both bars sits at Gangotri.

Auto procurement
"After hatching a plan of kidnapping the manager, they decided that it would be easier to execute it if they had an auto rickshaw. They flagged an auto from Iblur junction on October 18 and asked to be taken to Hallur cross. On getting there, they took the driver to a nearby graveyard and overpowered him," said a senior officer from the HSR Layout police station.

They then stripped him and tied him to a tree in the graveyard. On their way back, they told passersby that they had seen a half-burnt body in the graveyard to deter them from visiting it and chancing upon the auto driver.

Some people saw the auto driver early the next morning, however, and set him free. He and his relatives registered a complaint with the HSR Layout police.

Kidnap
Two days after the incident, they managed to kidnap the bar manager, extort money and flee. Jagannath also filed a case with the police.

However, the accused recently decided to sell the auto to make an extra buck and were arrested by the HSR police. During investigation, they revealed that they were behind Jagannath's kidnapping too. The police recovered Rs 1.5 lakh in cash and some weapons from them and they were sent to judicial custody.

Mirza Ali Raza, sub-inspector, HSR Layout police station, said, "They revealed details of the kidnapping after they were arrested. They were earlier caught by the Madivala police in a case of extorting money from a techie. They managed to evade punishment in that case by claiming that they were juvenile."

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels