Man held in Noida for faking his own abduction to extort ₹5 lakh

Police said Sahu, a Class 8 dropout, fabricated the abduction to implicate the complainants in a false case and demand money

A 35-year-old man was arrested in Noida’s Phase 3 area for allegedly staging his own kidnapping to extort ₹5 lakh from a couple over an old rivalry, police said on Wednesday. 

Sahu confessed that he had staged his own kidnapping by running away from home. He then used his mobile phone to send messages to his wife, claiming he was abducted by kidnappers under the direction of the couple and demanding the ₹5 lakh ransom for his release, said police. (HT Photos)

Police identified the accused as Dashrath Sahu, a resident of Garhi Chaukhandi in Sector 121. Police said Sahu, a Class 8 dropout, fabricated the abduction to implicate the complainants in a false case and demand money. 

According to the FIR lodged by Kusum, a resident of Sector 121, “On September 24, around 5.20pm, suspect Sahu came and demanded ₹5 lakh following a dispute. Sahu threatened us to pay the money or he will frame us in a false case. When we refused to pay, the suspect went missing and informed his wife that we were involved in his abduction.” 

Police said a case was registered under Section 308 (extortion) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at the Phase 3 police station, and multiple teams were deployed to locate the suspect. “With the help of electronic surveillance, Sahu was traced in Mathura,” said Shavya Goyal, additional DCP, Central Noida. 

“Sahu confessed that he had staged his own kidnapping by running away from home. He then used his mobile phone to send messages to his wife, claiming he was abducted by kidnappers under the direction of the couple and demanding the ₹5 lakh ransom for his release,” added ADCP Goyal. 

Police said the mobile phone used to send the false messages and orchestrate the plot was recovered.