Police foil kidnap attempt, arrest four

A patrolling van moving around in the Nehru Nagar area helped the police foil a kidnapping bid in the wee hours of Monday. Four persons who had abducted a small-time real estate agent from Versova and dumped him in the trunk of their car, were stopped by the police and arrested.

A patrolling van moving around in the Nehru Nagar area helped the police foil a kidnapping bid in the wee hours of Monday. Four persons who had abducted a small-time real estate agent from Versova and dumped him in the trunk of their car, were stopped by the police and arrested.

HT Image

The incident took place around 2am when the four accused came to the Mhada residence of Samit Gangavne, 29. He said, “I opened the door to a stranger who told me my friend was waiting outside. As the person mentioned the name of a really close friend, I went with him.”

“Once out, the four men told me they had weapons and that I should accompany them if I did not wish to be harmed. They took me to an isolated spot where they beat me up,” Gangavne said. The four then allegedly pushed Gangavne into the trunk of their car and drove on.

“As I could not breathe properly, I would hit my hand on the roof of the trunk hoping to alert someone. They would then halt the car and beat me up,” Gangavne said. “ After an hour, they took the vehicle to an isolated spot where they again beat me up. This time, however, a police patrol vehicle going by forced them to open the trunk,” Gangavne said.

“Jadhav told us he had paid Gangavne Rs 1.5 lakh for a flat in a Slum Rehabilitation Authority project. But, he claims because Gangavne did not return the money nor provided the flat, they abducted him,” Shaikh said.