Berhampur: Four youths, including an employee of a private finance company in New Delhi and three of his colleagues from Cuttack district, were rescued from a house in Chikiti Garh village in Odisha’s Ganjam district, police said Monday.
According to a source, the youth from New Delhi is a private finance company employee and three agents from Cuttack. They had been held hostage for several days, and their captors had allegedly demanded a ransom of Rs 1 crore.
The source further stated that the captives were also threatened with a cobra to instil fear.
The police informed that the youths were first kidnapped in the Golonthara area of Ganjam district and later moved to Chikiti Garh, where they were reportedly subjected to torture for three days.
The matter came to light early Sunday when one of the hostages managed to escape from the captivity. The youth made his way to the Chikiti Tehsildar’s office and sought help. Tehsildar Biswaranjan Kaunhar found the youth repeatedly losing consciousness and immediately alerted the cops.
A team from the Nuagaon police station acted swiftly, coordinating with the Tehsildar to locate the remaining hostages. Acting on information provided by the escaped youth, police raided a house owned by a man named Nutan in Chikiti Garh village. They found the other three victims tied up and rescued them.
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During the raid, police also discovered illegal ganja cultivation in the backyard of the house.
Police have launched an extensive operation, and efforts are on to nab the accused. Raids are being conducted in various suspected areas. However, the exact motive behind the abduction remains unclear.
Police have refrained from sharing further details, citing the sensitive nature of the investigation.
PNN
