Abducted Hyderabad businessman freed for Rs 1 crore, 3 held

Kingpin of the gang is still on the run, police said.

Three people allegedly involved in Sunday night kidnapping of a city-based automobile financier have been arrested by the Hyderabad Police but the kingpin of the gang is still on the run and the ransom of Rs 1 crore--paid by the businessman-- is yet to be recovered.

The 40-year-old businessman, P Gajendra Prasad, was abducted on Sunday night.

Cops say that 40-year-old businessman, P Gajendra Prasad, who lives in Himayatnagar—a densely populated residential area in the heart of the city -- was abducted late on Sunday night while on the way to his Domalguda office and was freed hours later on payment of Rs 1 crore ransom.

While, the fourth kidnapper, who was allegedly the leader of the gang, is on the run, the Police claimed to have made a breakthrough and were hopeful of recovering the ransom money soon.

“We have made a breakthrough and are hopeful of recovering the ransom money,” said Chikkadpalli police inspector, S Venkat Reddy, without elaborating on the investigations.

The police suspect the gang was based in the old city of Hyderabad and had tracked Prasad’s movements for a few days before carrying out the kidnapping.

Prasad was returning to his office after meeting a friend at around 10.30 pm on Sunday, when the kidnappers struck.

“They whisked him away in a car to the outskirts of Hyderabad. They put a mask around his face so that he could not identify them,” inspector S Venkat Reddy revealed, adding that Prasad was confined to a room and made to call his friend for ransom.

“The initial demand was for Rs 3 crore which was finally brought down to Rs 1 crore, the ransom was collected at a place in Abids-- a major commercial center in the heart of the town—before Prasad was released at a nearby place,” Reddy said.