E-Paper
Kidnapped Jamshedpur industrialist rescued after 14 days, police chase Bihar gang
Kidnapped industrialist Kairav Gandhi, 24, was rescued by Jamshedpur police after 14 days, reuniting with his family unharmed but under mental stress.
Jamshedpur’s kidnapped young industrialist 24-year-old Kairav Gandhi reunited with his family Tuesday wee hours after Jamshedpur police recovered him safely from the Chouparan-Barhi section of GT Road near Hazaribagh at 4.30 am amid increased police pressure, officials said on Tuesday.
The breakthrough came 14 days after Gandhi was kidnapped on January 13 from near his Circuit House residence here. Later his car was found abandoned near a highway eatery near Kanderbera Chowk on NH-33 at 8.30 pm on January 13.
“Our teams were on the job for the past fortnight raiding several places. Yesterday, we received a crucial clue that the kidnappers were trying to shift Kairav to another location. Our teams zeroed in on the lead and one of the teams coming from Gaya side recovered him from Chouparan-Barhi section of the GT road on Gaya-Hazaribagh border Tuesday wee hours. The kidnappers had left him on the road and fled. Our team brought him back home safely and handed him over to his family since the Gandhi family requested us to bring him home first and do other legal formalities afterwards. He has no injury and was not beaten but was under immense mental tension and agony. The next challenge is to arrest the kidnappers and we will do it soon,” Piyush Pandey, Jamshedpur Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), told HT on Tuesday.
“He was kidnapped from the Kadma-Sonari link road and shifted to an SUV with a police sticker. His car was abandoned near Kanderbera Chowk. Ransom demand was made but we had asked the Gandhi family not to pay it,” added the SSP.
Devang Gandhi, father of Kairav and vice president (VP) of Adityapur Small Industries’ Association (ASIA), thanked the police, media, politicians and the business and trade associations for their constant support to the family during the hours of crisis.
“By god’s grace, Kairav is back home safely and sound. We are grateful and thankful to everyone for your blessings, prayers and being by our side during these difficult 14 days. We are grateful and indebted to all of you for your support,” Devang Gandhi said with folded hands.
Devang and Kairav Gandhi came out on the balcony of their palatial house around 10.30 am Tuesday and waved to the battery of media and common people waiting outside. Kairav also thanked police and the people of Jamshedpur.
“Kairav heard the kidnappers talking among themselves that it was now difficult to keep him captive as raids were getting pinpointed and rampant in strategic locations. We need to shift him to another location but the police teams are ahead and behind too. And, suddenly they asked him to alight from the vehicle and sped away. It’s a notorious Bihar-based kidnapping gang and we will get them soon,” one of the investigators said.
The suspected kidnappers had made a ransom demand of ₹10 crore through voice over internet protocol (VOIP) calls and messages on WhatsApp to Kairav’s father and his uncle Prashant Gandhi 17 times from Indonesian and Thailand numbers.
Meanwhile, Jamshedpur (West) MLA Saryu Roy met the Gandhi family on Tuesday morning. “It’s a major success for Jamshedpur police to recover Kairav safely and the SSP himself handed him over to the family this morning. The police are now ought to make the complete truth public. I have talked with the SSP and the kidnappers will be arrested soon,” Roy told the media.
BJP state president Aditya Sahu congratulated Jamshedpur police but said it was because of the movement by BJP that Kairav could be safely brought back. “I also thank former CMs Babulal Marandi, Arjun Munda, Raghubar Das, Madhu Koda, Champai Soren, MP Bidyut Baran Mahato, MLA Purnima Das Sahu, Dineshanand Goswami, district party chief and workers for sustained pressure on the police,” said Sahu.
Singhbhum Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) president Manav Kedia said this was the result of the skillful leadership of SSP Piyush Pandey, prompt and coordinated actions by city SP Kumar Shivashish and rural SP Rishabh Garg.
“We also thank Jharkhand DGP Tadasha Mishra and the entire team of state CID and ATS for their hard work and committed efforts due to which Kairav could be safely brought back home,” Kedia told HT.
