Kidnapped Andheri hotelier rescued within 12 hours, 7 arrested

According to Satish Gaikwad, senior police inspector at MIDC police station, a financial dispute led to the kidnapping of Arup Shetty, the owner of Veera Residency Hotel, a two-star property. The receptionist of the hotel, Mani Yadav, 25, reported the course of the events that unfolded before him on Monday afternoon

MUMBAI: An Andheri East hotelier was rescued within 12 hours of his kidnapping, following a co-ordinated enterprise between MIDC and Thane police. He was rescued from his own moving car, which the kidnappers had used to flee after abducting him. They were tracked down to Shahpur, Thane district, on Tuesday afternoon. Seven were arrested in connection with the crime.

Kidnapped Andheri hotelier rescued within 12 hours, 7 arrested

The crucial 12 hours involved scanning CCTV footages, synchronised collaboration between MIDC police and the traffic department, followed by a smooth highway chase.

According to Satish Gaikwad, senior police inspector at MIDC police station, a financial dispute led to the kidnapping of Arup Shetty, the owner of Veera Residency Hotel, a two-star property. The receptionist of the hotel, Mani Yadav, 25, reported the course of the events that unfolded before him on Monday afternoon.

Yadav has been working at the hotel for the last three years. He told the police that Shetty had rented the property to a Pune resident Vijay Avkirkar, 35, in July 2022. Avkirkar ran the show for five months and returned the property to Shetty in December 2022; since then, Shetty has been running the hotel.

At around 3pm on Monday, when Yadav was at the reception, two men walked in and demanded to see Shetty. When they were told that Shetty was yet to arrive, they asked if they could use the washroom, located at the back of the hotel. Shetty arrived a few minutes after the two men had exited the reception, and went to a room on the second floor to have lunch.

According to Yadav, around 3.15pm, Avkirkar arrived accompanied by four other men. Avkirkar then entered Shetty’s cabin alone. “He snatched Shetty’s mobile phone and put it in his pocket. On his instructions, two of his accomplices followed him and started abusing and assaulting the hotelier,” Yadav recalled.

He recalled snatches of their conversation – Shetty saying that he would return Avkirkar’s money. Avkirkar and the men accompanying him did not pay any heed. “One of them took out a pistol and fired in the air to threaten Shetty while the other men snatched his brown leather bag from his hand,” said Yadav.

An intimidated Yadav then called the housekeeping staff who rushed in to help but the men accompanying Avkirkar pushed all of them into the receptionist’s cabin and locked the door from the outside.

From inside the cabin, Yadav saw Avkirkar holding a knife and his four accomplices dragging Shetty outside. The men snatched the keys of Shetty’s Innova from his driver and pushed the hotelier into his car. When the hotelier resisted, one of the men fired in the air.

“I immediately called up Shetty on his mobile phone, but it was switched off. After this, I called the police helpline number -- 100 – to inform them about the abduction,” Yadav added in his statement to the police.

After receiving information about the kidnapping, the MIDC police registered an FIR under sections 147, 148, 149, 323, 506, 504, 143, 144 and 397 of the Indian Penal Code.

MIDC police officers then studied Shetty’s call records and discovered that Swapnil Avkirkar had called him earlier and demanded ₹50 lakhs. After tracking Shetty’s phone, the police team were able to locate and arrest Swapnil and one Vaibhav Jankar from Retibunder, near Mumbra.

At 2:30 am the patrolling officers from Thane traffic police noticed Shetty’s Innova car, earlier flagged off by the Mumbai police, moving towards Thane based on the CCTV footage of the area.

Traffic cops from Thane informed the MIDC police about the car which was proceeding from Saralgaon, in Shahpur, towards Kinhavali Mangaon, 98 kilometres from Mumbai.

Traffic police officer Yash Palve, accompanied by his subordinates, chased the vehicle and called for backup. By now, the police team from MIDC, which had already reached Thane, intercepted the vehicle and forced the driver to stop the car.

Shetty, seated inside the car, was rescued.

“We have arrested brothers Vijay and Chandrakant Avkirkar. The two then led the police to Sagar Gangurde, Manoj Lokhande and Gurunath Wagh who were hiding at their residences in Shahpur,” said Maheshwar Reddy, deputy commissioner of police, Zone 10. The police also recovered two air guns and two knives from the accused.