KHALIQ MUKHTAR Khan’s kidnapping was foolproof, but the kidnappers could not strike the ransom deal as smartly and fell in the police net.
The entire operation executed by the Special Task Force (STF) sleuths to rescue this Cricket Association of Lucknow (CAL) secretary and city’s leading timber merchant from the clutches of kidnappers also revealed the fact that how Bihar-based gangs were targeting the Lucknow businessmen.
Seven of the kidnappers’ gang identified as Mohammad Ali of Gorakhpur, Asif Khan, Ajay Prasad, Sumangar Yadav, Awadhesh, Sanjay Yadav alias Maan and Premjeet Kurmi alias Mantu, all of Patna, Bihar landed here and were sent to jail on Friday. The masterminds behind the kidnapping besides Mohammad Ali (arrested) identified as Anil Yadav alias Tiger Rai, Sunil Singh alias Ninny and Bhavnath Jha alias Bhanu of Bihar and Zarir alias Zarru of Gorakhpur were yet to be traced.
The STF team led by Deputy SP Shahab Rashid Khan and ASP Vijay Bhushan succeeded to locate the victim only after they trapped Mohammad Ali in Gorakhpur. Ali had started making ransom calls at victim Khan’s basic phone number at his Lucknow residence after January 15. The cops located Ali following surveillance of his phone number. The gang had sent a courier and a speed-post carrying two audiocassettes and photographs of the victim. While the speed-post was sent from a West Bengal address the courier carried a Nepalese address.
However, the STF team trapped Asif in Patna after Ali, following cops’ instructions, informed Asif that the ransom amount would be delivered at Patna.
{{/usCountry}}However, the STF team trapped Asif in Patna after Ali, following cops’ instructions, informed Asif that the ransom amount would be delivered at Patna.
{{/usCountry}}The real operation began after Asif told that the victim was kept in a distant village of Maoist affected Jehanabad area. The STF team comprising commandoes and equipped with state-of-the-art weapons headed for the village. A section of CRPF battalion and the local station officer too were accompanying them but the local policemen had strictly instructed the UP cops not to use lights while moving through villages.
The cops raided about five villages before reaching to the exact village. The STF team was carrying the dragon lights but they had no option but to move in darkness through fields after 11 pm on January 24.
When they broke into the exact hutment they found Khan sleeping on the floor in darkness wrapped in a blanket. Two of the gang members were caught from the place. The gang had planned to shift Khan to another village. Earlier, the victim was kept in three other villages.
Ali revealed that they tried to keep kidnapping a secret but they had no other means to make ransom calls. No sooner they used the mobile phones than they were trapped by the police.