Delhi: Police rescue kidnapped Ola bike rider; 1 arrested

Delhi: Police rescue kidnapped Ola bike rider; 1 arrestedMay 21, 2023New Delhi, May 21 (IANS) The police have rescued an Ola bike rider who was kidnapped from the Kashmere Gate ISBT here, and arrested one person in this connection, an official said on Sunday, adding raids were underway to nab two others who are absconding.Raj had come to the ISBT, Kashmere Gate to drop his customer. After a while, three youth, brandishing knives, robbed him of his valuables, and kidnapped him, tied him with his own clothes,and threw him in a ground cavity near the Yamuna river. The kidnappers also demanded a ransom of Rs 2 lakh and jewellery from his family.A senior police officer said that the police received a call in this regard at Kashmiri Gate Police Station. The caller told the police that his maternal uncle Raj, also known as Shankar, was kidnapped by unknown persons who were demanding Rs 2 lakh and gold jewellery. The kidnappers had also threatened the Raj’s family not to inform the police or else they would kill him.”Keeping in view of the gravity of the crime, all police personnel were asked to wear plain clothes to avoid any mis-hap with the victim. All logistics were also taken to deal with any incident,” the police said.The kidnappers instructed the victim’s family to meet them near a Hanuman temple and were changing their location frequently to avoid the police. When the victim’s family reached near Hanuman temple, they were again instructed to reach near the ISBT.”In the meantime, the police found Raj’s motorcycle, a TVS bike, near Kashmere Gate metro station. A youth was seated on that bike and was talking on mobile phone. When he was approached, he tried to flee but was overpowered by the police team,” a police officer said.The apprehended youth was identified as Habib.”Habib was asked about Raj but he tried to mislead the police by saying that he had no knowledge about the incident and he was only asked to collect the ransom money,” said the official.Raj was eventually traced, and he was found in a semi-conscious state inside a ground cavity.”The victim was brutally beaten up by the kidnappers and his hands and legs were tied with his own clothes. He was immediately rushed to Aruna Asaf Ali Government Hospital, where doctors observed that further delays could have caused any causality,” the police officer said.The police recorded the statement of his sister Sunita and lodged a case in this regard.Raj later told the police that when he resisted the robbery attempt, the accused pushed him and fled. However, he followed them and saw them entering a ground cavity. Later, they brutally assaulted him, tied his hands and legs with his own clothes, and left him in the ground cavity.”Habib has been arrested while his aides Rahul and Mansoor Alam are on the run. We are conducting raids to nab them,” the police said.–IANSatk/pgh