Five arrested for abducting bizman, victim rescued unhurt

kolkata: Five persons were arrested by the Anti-Rowdy Squad (ARS) of Kolkata Police for abducting a businessman from Tollygunge area on Thursday morning.

The businessman was rescued unhurt. The accused persons were produced at the Alipore court on Thursday and remanded to police custody for eight days.

On Wednesday around 8 pm, a man—identified as Rehan Ahmed Qureshi of Bashirhat—approached Kasba police station and informed that his business partner Sheikh Qutubuddin Gazi in their brickfield business was abducted by a group of men from near their office in Shantipally on Wednesday afternoon. The accused person came driving two cars and introduced themselves as policemen.

Gazi's family members also received ransom calls from the kidnappers, who were demanding Rs 1.5 crore to release the businessman. Immediately, a case was registered and police started tracking the mobile number used for making the ransom call.

The ARS of the Detective Department in Lalbazar was also informed. During the probe, cops started tracking the mobile number and also checking the surveillance camera footage. On Tuesday morning, the ARS team was able to spot the accused and the businessman in a house in Tollygunge area. Gazi was rescued after a raid was conducted and five persons were arrested from there. Police sources informed that during the probe, cops came to know that despite the kidnappers had demanded Rs 1.5 crore initially, finally they had agreed to settle the deal against Rs 3 lakh. Police also came to know that a few accused persons had given several lakhs of rupees to Gazi. It had been alleged that the businessman was not returning the money. To get their money back, people who had given the money to Gazi sought help from the mastermind of the abduction plan, identified as Manas Banerjee. They were also present when Gazi was kidnapped. Around 5 to 6 accused persons are still evading arrest.