Chandigarh: Student abducted at gunpoint, forced to pay ₹1.3-lakh ransom
The kidnappers demanded a ransom of ₹5 lakh for Rahul, the victim’s release; terrified, Rahul pleaded with them and managed to convince them to settle for a smaller amount; under duress, he called his sister, Sharda, and requested urgent financial help without revealing the true situation
A 20-year-old BCA final-year student from Ram Darbar was allegedly abducted by four unidentified men at gunpoint and forced to pay ₹1.3 lakh as ransom for his release here on April 29. The accused threatened to frame him in a false drug case and kill him if he failed to comply.
The victim, identified as Rahul, is a student at the Logonwal Group of Colleges, Dera Bassi.
According to the FIR, the incident occurred around 7.40 pm when his mother asked him to arrange transport for his grandmother. He took his Honda Activa and went toward the power grid in Hallomajra, where a white Maruti Suzuki Swift car with a Punjab registration plate suddenly pulled up beside him.
“Four men, including the driver, forcibly dragged me into the car. I shouted for help, but they overpowered me, beat me and pushed me inside the vehicle,” Rahul said in his complaint.
According to Rahul, they drove toward Kharar via the Sector 31/47 dividing road. The kidnappers allegedly showed him a pistol-like object and falsely accused him of being involved in drug peddling.
“They told me I would be framed in a drug case and sent to jail. When I denied the allegations, they threatened to kill me,” Rahul recounted.
The kidnappers demanded a ransom of ₹5 lakh for his release. Terrified, Rahul pleaded with them and managed to convince them to settle for a smaller amount. Under duress, he called his sister, Sharda, and requested urgent financial help without revealing the true situation.
The accused then drove Rahul to Kurali, where his sister met them after 1–2 hours near a flyover ahead of the HP CNG petrol pump in Kharar. Sharda handed over ₹1.3 lakh to the assailants, after which Rahul was released.
Before fleeing, the abductors allegedly warned Rahul not to approach the police, or else face dire consequences. He was taken to his sister’s home, from where the family contacted the police station in Sector 31.
Based on Rahul’s statement, police have registered a case under Sections 115(2), 140(2), 308(2), 351(2), and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with Sections 25, 54, and 59 of the Arms Act.
The FIR includes the Maruti Suzuki Swift car’s driver and three unidentified individuals as accused. The police said they were investigating the matter and analysing CCTV footage and mobile records to trace the culprits. Strict action will be taken, and the culprits be nabbed soon, they said.
