New Delhi:
Two people were arrested for allegedly kidnapping a jeweller and demanding a ransom of Rs 10 lakh from his family, police said on Saturday.
The accused were identified as Nitin Kansal (40), a jeweller based in Meerut, and his accomplice Pankaj Kumar Goel (49), a resident of Delhi‘s Shahdara.
According to police, Mukesh Kumar (50), a resident of Karol Bagh in central Delhi, was rescued safely from Nandan Nagar in Meerut and jewellery worth Rs three lakh was recovered from their possession.
Police said Kansal and Kumar were known to each other.
A complaint was lodged at Prasad Nagar police station by Kumar’s wife on October 7, a day after he was kidnapped, they said.
On October 6, Kumar left his home at 8.30 am for INA market after he got a call from some unknown persons. At 3.15 pm, Kumar’s wife got a call from his number and he asked her to give Rs 1-2 lakh cash, his cheque book and some jewellery to Pankaj at Shahdara Metro Station.
Later in the night, she again got a call from Kumar’s mobile phone and this time, the accused asked her to arrange Rs 2-3 lakh for her husband’s safe release.
Since the ransom calls were being made from Kumar’s mobile number, his location was traced to Nandan Nagar in Meerut, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Sanjay Bhatia said.
A police team was sent to Meerut and Kumar was safely rescued and the main accused — Kansal — was apprehended while his co-accused was nabbed from his house in Shahdara, he said.
“During interrogation, the accused told police that he knew Kumar as they were in the same profession. Later on, some dispute developed between them. He hatched a conspiracy with his associate Pankaj to kidnap Kumar so as to meet the loss in his business,” he said.
