22-year-old, 2 friends arrested for staging kidnapping

The accused confessed to staging the kidnapping, saying his family would have refused to invest seed money in their business

MUMBAI: A 22-year-old resident of Nalasopara has been arrested for allegedly staging his own kidnapping in connivance with two friends, hoping to extort money from his family to start a printing business.

Tiwari’s friends had applied make-up on him while shooting the video to make the kidnapping look real, said police

The Achole police nabbed the 22-year-old unemployed youth, Rohan Tiwari, and his two friends – Kaushal Dubey, 21, and Nikhil Singh, 22 – within 11 hours of his alleged kidnapping. Tiwari then confessed to staging the incident, saying his family would have refused to invest seed money in the business.

According to the police, Tiwari’s family residing in Nalosapara received a video on Tuesday night, in which he was tied up at an unknown place and being assaulted by two kidnappers.

“While Tiwari was bleeding profusely in the video, the kidnappers demanded ₹3 lakh, saying if the amount was not paid, he would be killed,” an officer from Achole police station told Hindustan Times.

Tiwari’s uncle approached the police the same night, following which a first information report was registered and a team led by assistant police inspector Yashpal Suryavanshi from the crime detection unit was tasked with investigating the matter. They traced Tiwari’s mobile location to a densely populated slum pocket in Chembur and sought help from the Shivaji Nagar police station to track them down and nab them. But the mobile was switched off before the police reached the location, posing a fresh challenge.

When the alleged kidnappers called Tiwari’s family again later that night, saying they were short of time and the ransom had to be paid urgently, the family kept them engaged in conversation, based on directions from police. They also transferred ₹5,000 to them online, claiming they were unable to withdraw cash as the bank was shut. But the police failed to make any headway in locating them.

Around 11 am on Wednesday, when the purported kidnappers and Tiwari visited a hotel in Chembur for breakfast, the staff alerted the police. Soon, a team reached the spot and nabbed the trio. Upon questioning, they learnt that Tiwari and his friends had planned the kidnapping together to secure funds and start a printing business.

“Tiwari’s friends had applied make-up on him while shooting the video to make the kidnapping look real,” said senior police inspector Sujit Kumar Pawar.