E-Paper
Kidnappers demand ₹10 lakh ransom to release 18-year-old Ludhiana youth
Send victim’s parents a video showing him tied and beaten up; through voice message threaten to kill him if the ransom is not paid
An 18-year-old shopkeeper was kidnapped by some unidentified persons who have demanded ₹10 lakh ransom from his family.
The kidnappers also sent a video of the victim, Nitish Kumar, to his parents, showing him tied and beaten up.
The couple told the police that their son ran a mobile phone shop in their village, Iraq, located on Machhiwara-Kohara Road.
On Friday evening, he did not return home as per routine, so they went looking for him. Soon after they received a voice message from Nitish’s mobile number, stating that he had been kidnapped and the kidnappers wanted ₹10 lakh for his release.
In the voice message, Nitish told his parents that he had been taken out of Punjab and that they should transfer ₹10 lakh to his bank account so he could fulfil the kidnappers’ ransom demand. He said he will be killed if he did not pay them and also urged his parents not to inform the police. The video showing him tied and beaten up followed the voice message.
The parents immediately sounded the police, following which deputy commissioner of police (DSP, detective) Varinder Singh and DSP (Samrala) Harvinder Singh Khaira reached the victim’s shop and initiated investigation.
Khaira said the police were investigating the matter from all angles and were trying to trace the victim.
