Ludhiana: Abducted Gujarat trader rescued; 2 arrested, 4 absconding

The police rescued a Gujarat-based trader, Sujeet Dinkar Patil, who was reportedly abducted by a group of five miscreants in full public view in Janakpuri on November 21. The police have arrested two of the accused, while at least four are yet to be arrested.

According to the police, the accused took him to Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh after kidnapping him following a monetary dispute. The accused allegedly thrashed him and forced him to sign some blank cheques.

According to the police, the accused had already confined victim’s partner Dibre Rajendra Bhai, who was being pressured to make calls to Sujeet Dinkar Patil. Earlier, the police had booked Dibra Rajendra Bhai as a key accused.

The arrested persons have been identified as Maganjit Singh, alias Magandeep Singh, alias Magan, of Preet Vihar Colony, Noorwala Road, and Jasin, alias Yashin Sheikh, alias Sonu, of Sanyas Nagar in Basti Jodhewal. Shubham Dikshit of Grewal Colony in Jodhewal, Shahabudin Ansari of Gurugram, Rahul and an unidentified aide are on the run.

Additional deputy commissioner of police (ADCP) Amandeep Singh Brar said the police arrested the accused at the Sahnewal elevated road and rescued the trader following a tip-off. The police also seized a Hyundai Verna car in which they were taking Sujeet towards Ludhiana, while the Hyundai i-20 car in which Sujeet was kidnapped is yet to be recovered.

Sujeet Dinkar Patil told the police that he runs his business office — Patil Textiles — at Ahluwalia Complex. On November 21, he along with his accountant Jagdeep Singh went to income tax advocate Simrat Singh to file sales tax returns in Janakpuri. While they were waiting for the advocate outside his office, the accused abducted him in their car and took him to a hotel in Ghaziabad where they held him captive in a hotel. According to the victim, the accused thrashed him badly and forced him to sign some blank cheques. The accused demanded more money from him and took him to Ludhiana to collect more cash.

The ADCP added that things would be clear after the arrest of Shubham Dikshit who is the key accused and the Hyundai i-20 car in which Sujeet was abducted belongs to him. The preliminary investigation suggested that the accused were forcing Sujeet and his partner to make some transactions to convert their black money into white, the police said. As Sujeet was reluctant, the accused held his partner Dibre Rajendra Bhai captive and were forcing him to make calls to Sujeet for the transactions. After Sujeet refused, the accused abducted him from Janakpuri.

Earlier, the police had booked Dibre Rajendra Bhai and four others for abducting Sujeet following the complaint of Jagdeep Singh, victim’s accountant. A case was registered against the accused under Section 137 (2) of the BNS at the Division number 2 police station. The police added Sections 140 (3) of BNS in the FIR.