Hingora deposes in Bihar court, identifies 6 ‘kidnappers’

Sohail was abducted on October 29, 2013 from Dharampur village in Daman and brought to Bihar by road. His father claimed to have paid Rs 25 crore as ransom for his release.

Textile magnate Sohail Hingora, whose abduction on October 29, 2013 had triggered uproar in Bihar, and his Surat-based industrialist father deposed before a Chapra court on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.

Securitymen outside the courtroom at Chapra in Bihar during Sohail Hingora's deposition in his abduction case(HT photo)

During his deposition in the court of additional district judge-1 Ashok Kumar Gupta, Sohail identified six accused, including Chulbul Pandey, Deepak, Ranjit, John and Chauhattar, in whose captivity he had spent several days.

Sohail and his father Hanif Hingora left for Gujarat, their home state, on Friday after a three-day stay at Chapra in Bihar’s Saran district, to complete legal formalities related to the abduction case.

Sohail was abducted from Dharampur village in Daman and brought to Bihar by road, a distance of over 2000 km, crossing hundreds of police barriers on way. The incident then highlighted the politician-criminal nexus in Bihar.

READ: Nitish orders probe after Rs. 25 crore ransom claim

After Sohail’s release, Hanif Hingora, who has business interests in Delhi, Gujarat, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, claimed that he paid Rs 25 crore to a Bihar politician at a place 22 km away from the Mahatma Gandhi Setu across Ganga for his son’s release. The police, too, admitted to ransom payment, but disputed the amount, saying only Rs 9 crore was paid to secure Sohail’s release.

“I am thankful to the Bihar government and the Saran police administration for making all arrangements for our stay and safety at Chapra for three days. My son deposed before the court on February 15 and I deposed on February 16,” Hanif said.

Hanif Hingora (File photo)

After Sohail’s release, Hanif had written two letters to chief minister Nitish Kumar, seeking his intervention. “I hope and believe that you will personally look into the matter. I urge you to issue appropriate directives to investigating authorities to conduct full and effective investigation in a result-oriented manner to ensure that the culprits are arrested at the earliest,” he wrote.

Recalling the incident, Hanif told HT that unknown criminals had kidnapped his son, then 20, from Daman on October 29, 2013 and brought him to Nayagaon village in Saran on October 31. He said the kidnappers called him up on November 22 and demanded a huge ransom for the release of his son.

“Having no option and having waited for almost a month, I finally paid the ransom money. My son was released near a petrol pump on Chapra-Patna main road on November 28,” he added.