Two held after 19 months for abduction, mutilation in Hodal

Victim was abducted from Bulandshahr in July 2024 and found near Hassanpur Chowk. Police say 14 accused have been arrested so far.

After being on the run for over 19 months, two suspects were arrested from Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh for allegedly abducting a man, chopping the fingers of both his hands with an axe and throwing him out of a moving car at Hassanpur Chowk in Hodal in July 2024, police said on Wednesday.

Accused were taken on police remand and later sent to judicial custody. More suspects are still absconding, police said. (HT)

The suspects, identified as Himanshu Singh, 37, and Sarjeet Singh, 39, both from Taharpur in Agra, were arrested on Monday, police said. They were taken on one-day police remand after being produced before a court on Tuesday and were sent to judicial custody on Wednesday, they added.

Investigators said the duo, along with other suspects, had kidnapped Rupesh Kumar, 33, a Hodal resident, at gunpoint from Shahadpura in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh, on July 6, 2024. Rupesh was sitting at the house of a friend, Nitin Kumar, with three others when four to five cars arrived and abducted him.

Rupesh was accused of firing at Narveer, alias Bhola, 36, outside the BPDO office in Hodal on June 21, 2024. Narveer was injured, and Rupesh was on the run when the rival group allegedly traced and kidnapped him.

“The suspects blindfolded him and took him to a canal near Banchari village, Palwal. There, they chopped the fingers of both hands with an axe and then threw him at the chowk and fled,” said Jagminder Singh, Hodal crime branch unit in-charge, adding the firing stemmed from an old rivalry.

“Overall, 14 suspects, including Narveer, have been arrested so far in the case, and some others are still on the run. Weapons and the car used in the crime were also recovered,” he said.

Locals alerted police after Rupesh was found unconscious in a pool of blood. He was taken to Palwal Civil Hospital, then shifted to Badshah Khan Civil Hospital in Faridabad and later to Delhi.

On Rupesh’s complaint, an attempt-to-murder and kidnapping case was registered against more than 20 suspects at Hodal police station on July 7, 2024.