Two of the three ‘recovery agents’, who allegedly abducted a youth, held him captive for four days, forced him into manual labour and sold a unit of his blood over an unpaid mobile phone instalment in Lucknow, were arrested on Thursday, said police.
One allegedly worked as a finance company manager, another as a field agent and the third was involved in instalment recovery. Police nabbed Sushant Sharma, 31, and Aniket on Thursday after analysing CCTV footage and technical evidence, officials said.
According to police, Sushant was working as a manager with a finance company, Shubham allegedly worked as a field agent with the same company, while Aniket was also involved in recovery work.
The alleged professional connection between the three was now a key part of the investigation as police probed whether their access to information about defaulters was used to target Neval Kumar, the victim.
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An FIR was registered at Nigohan police station on the complaint of Neval’s mother, Jadurai. Police booked the accused under Sections 143(3), 146, 127(3) and 115(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
{{/usCountry}}An FIR was registered at Nigohan police station on the complaint of Neval’s mother, Jadurai. Police booked the accused under Sections 143(3), 146, 127(3) and 115(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
{{/usCountry}}Police said Shubham was absconding, and other alleged associates were being traced, on whose names police declared a bounty of ₹25,000.
What the police said they learned during questioning offers a glimpse into how the alleged recovery operation was planned and escalated into abduction, forced blood extraction and unpaid labour.
At a press conference on Thursday, DCP (south) Md Mushtaq said Sushant Sharma, 31, worked as a finance manager with a private credit financing company at Vibhuti Khand and handled recovery-related work for customers who had bought motorcycles, mobile phones and televisions on finance. His alleged associates, Shubham Singh, a field agent, and Aniket Singh alias Kaka, 26, were also involved in the recovery.
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According to ADCP (south) Vasanath Rallapalli, Sushant told cops the three had repeatedly visited the home of Neval Kumar, who had failed to pay his mobile phone instalment, but could not find him there. The repeated trips allegedly meant additional fuel expenses, while the men were under pressure to recover dues, according to his statement recorded by police.
It was against this backdrop, police said, that the accused allegedly decided to “teach Neval a lesson” and planned to pick him up.
The most significant disclosure, according to police, concerns what allegedly happened immediately after Neval was picked up from outside his village.
Sushant allegedly told investigators that the men took Neval to a blood donation centre they were acquainted with, where one unit of his blood was allegedly extracted against his consent and sold with the help of other associates. “The register of the blood centre is being probed, and strong action will be taken if it is found to be at fault. The employer of the accused is on police radar,” said the DCP.
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Police said after the blood extraction, the accused allegedly shifted Neval to Shubham’s house, where he was kept for four days. The victim was allegedly made to break plaster from the roof as a labourer. The accused also allegedly collected the outstanding instalment from him.