Mentally challenged man rescued from UP

A 21-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly abducting a mentally challenged man from Shahpur Jat village in south Delhi.

A 21-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly abducting a mentally challenged man from Shahpur Jat village in south Delhi.

HT Image

The South District police said Rahul Kumar Singh kidnapped Pradeep Panwar (21) a week ago.

He had demanded Rs 15 lakh as ransom for releasing Panwar, failing which he had threatened to remove the victim's kidney. He had abducted Panwar from a tea stall, which he frequented, the police said.

“Panwar was missing from his South Delhi house since the morning of December 10,” said HGS Dhaliwal, Deputy Commissioner of Police, South district.

His father Jagdish Panwar (52) said, “Pradeep had gone to a neighbourhood scooter mechanic shop in the morning. I informed the police when he didn’t return till evening.” Panwar senior works as a security officer at a Delhi Development Authority (DDA) building.

Police said Singh, a resident of Mirzapur district in UP, had taken the victim to Allahabad after abducting him from a local tea vendor’s shop.

Recalling the incident, the victim said, “He first took me to Khelgaon on his bike and the next thing I remember is that we were on a train.”

Singh called the victim’s father and demanded money in return for the safety of his son on December 16.

“Panwar was asked to arrange for cash immediately and was instructed to deliver it at a destination in Allahabad,” added Dhaliwal.

After a cat and mouse game, which allegedly lasted for three days, Singh finally agreed to meet Panwar at a bus stop near Rambagh station in UP.

“On December 19, as soon as Singh approached Jagdish with his mentally challenged son riding pillion on his motorcycle, he was pounced upon by Head Constable Islamuddin Khan who was posing as Jagdish's relative,” said a senior police officer.

During interrogation, Singh confessed to have planned the abduction for more than two months and knew that Jagdish was going to receive a sum of Rs 20 lakh in lieu of a court settlement, police said.

“He said he was in dire need of money for his sister’s marriage,” said the official.

One motorcycle, a mobile phone, one pen drive and two SIM cards were recovered from Singh.