A leading UP industrialist whose sports equipment firm manufactures and exports the popular ‘BDM’ brand of cricket bats was rescued by the police on Wednesday, a day after he was kidnapped.
Three persons have been arrested while his driver, the alleged mastermind, is still at large, the police said.
Sudhir Mahajan, 55, director of BD Mahajan & Sons Private Limited, was abducted at gunpoint while on his way home from the factory late Tuesday.
At around 9pm, his family got a call demanding a ransom of R2 crore. “We received at least five calls from dad’s phone till 11pm and they were pressing hard for the money,” Mahajan’s sons said. “We spoke to dad. He was calm and told us they’d given him food.”
The family got in touch with the police and the telephones were put on surveillance, which gave the police the gang’s location. Mahajan was rescued in a village in Phalawada district and three of his kidnappers nabbed. The driver, Ravindra, and two aides got away, the police said.
The family denied paying any ransom. “It was the effort of the cops who rescued him,” they said. They added that Ravindra had been employed just a month ago.
{{/usCountry}}The family denied paying any ransom. “It was the effort of the cops who rescued him,” they said. They added that Ravindra had been employed just a month ago.
{{/usCountry}}BDM is one of the country’s biggest cricket bat brands, used by both Indian and international players. Many Team India members and domestic players make the yearly trip to Meerut before the cricketing season to pick out their willow and get their bats custom-made.
But most top players display the logo of their sponsor on their bat rather than the BDM brand name.
(with agency inputs)