4 held for May abduction of actor

The Crime Branch of the Delhi Police arrested four men, including a film producer, for allegedly abducting a Bollywood actor in May and demanding a ransom of Rs 25 lakh.

The Crime Branch of the Delhi Police arrested four men, including a film producer, for allegedly abducting a Bollywood actor in May and demanding a ransom of Rs 25 lakh. Police said the accused had abducted the actor to settle “professional scores.”

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The producer, Adil Nawaz Khan (26), studied in St George’s College, a well-known Mussoorie boarding school. Khan, along with Vishal Mahesh Kapoor (41), Kasif Khan (21) and Rohit Singh (19), hatched a conspiracy to extort money from Rakesh Kathuria –– a small-time Bollywood actor and a choreographer who has acted in tele-serials like Dekh Bhai Dekh and Durgesh Nandini.

Police said the kidnappers called up Rakesh on May 12. “As Rakesh was in Mumbai, four members of the gang asked him to send his younger brother Manish to the parking lot at PVR Plaza in Delhi to strike a business deal. The brothers were abducted simultaneously in Mumbai and Delhi. The accused posed as officers from Mumbai ATS and Delhi Crime Branch. They released Manish after three hours, asking him to arrange Rs 25 lakh as ransom,” said Neeraj Thakur, DCP (crime). “Manish arranged Rs 6.5 lakh as ransom and after Rakesh was released, he complained to the police.”

A team led by ACP Rajender Bakshi arrested Adil in Delhi on December 19 and the other three were arrested from Santa Cruz area in Mumbai on Monday.

Kapoor, the leader of the gang, posed as Yusuf Pathan. He is a B.Com graduate from American Sharjah University, Dubai and was in the human resources business.