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Jharkhand businessman’s captors abandon him days after demanding ₹10 cr ransom
Police said Kairav Gandhi was found on the Chouparan-Barhi section of the Grand Trunk Road near Hazaribagh, over 250 km away from his residence
A 24-year-old businessman’s captors on Tuesday abandoned him 14 days after kidnapping him near his residence in Jharkhand’s Jamshedpur and demanding a ₹10 crore ransom for his release, as police closed in on them.
Police said Kairav Gandhi was found on the Chouparan-Barhi section of the Grand Trunk Road near Hazaribagh, over 250 km away, at 4:30am on Tuesday. His car was found near a roadside restaurant on January 13.
Senior police superintendent (Jamshedpur) Piyush Pandey said their teams zeroed in on kidnappers based on a lead after multiple raids, forcing them to leave Gandhi on the road and flee. “Our team brought him [Gandhi] back home safely and handed him over to his family. The Gandhi family asked us to bring him home first and finish legal formalities afterwards. He has no injury and was not beaten, but was under immense mental pressure. The next challenge is to arrest the kidnappers, and we will do it soon.”
Gandhi’s father, Devang Gandhi, thanked the police, media, politicians, and the business and trade associations for their support to the family. “Kairav is back home safely and sound.” Kairav Gandhi echoed his father.
An investigator quoted Kairav Gandhi as having heard the kidnappers say it was difficult to keep him as police closed in. He added that the kidnappers thought of shifting him to another location, but felt surrounded. “And, suddenly, they asked him to alight from their vehicle and sped away.” The investigator said a gang from Bihar was involved in the kidnapping.
The kidnappers demanded the ransom through voice-over-Internet-Protocol calls and messages on WhatsApp to Devang Gandhi and his uncle, Prashant Gandhi, 17 times using Indonesian and Thai numbers.
Saryu Roy, who represents Jamshedpur (West) in the Jharkhand assembly, asked police to make the complete truth public. “I have talked with... [Pandey] and the kidnappers will be arrested soon,” Roy said after meeting the Gandhi family.
