Bhubaneswar: In an incident similar to a thriller movie plot, a woman connived with her partner to stage her fake abduction, and later demanded a ransom of Rs 1 crore from her family for her release.
However, their luck eventually ran out after the Chandaka police traced their GPS location and arrested the duo from Nayagarh, Friday. Besides, one more person was also arrested in connection with the case.
Three mobile phones, a four-wheeler, a data card, nine ATM-cum-debit cards, two passbooks, two cheque books and a laptop were seized from the accused, said a senior police official.
Addressing the media Friday, Twin City Police Commissioner Sanjeeb Panda said the prime accused is Pradeep Kumar Ola, 27; while his associates are Devi Lal, 27 and Smruti Rekha Pani, 35. Ola and Lal are natives of Rajasthan.
The matter came under investigation after Smruti Rekha’s father Narayan Pani lodged a complaint in Chandaka police station, Thursday night, alleging his daughter has been abducted by miscreants. He said that the kidnappers made a WhatsApp call from the Smruti Rekha’s phone, demanding a ransom of Rs 1 crore.
“Narayan, who lives in Trident Galaxy of Chandaka area, said his daughter left the home in an auto-rickshaw around 6:45pm for a religious programme in Satsang Vihar. Several minutes later, Narayan received the call from the miscreants, saying his daughter has been kidnapped. Following this, the victim’s brother, who resides in Bangalore, made online payment of Rs 12 lakh to the bank accounts of the accused. Meanwhile, the police approached the bank branch and requested to freeze the accounts,” Panda added.
As per preliminary investigations, Ola hired his associate from Rajasthan to assist him in the plan.
The police, following the complaint, formed six teams, comprising of a special squad, Chandaka police, Bhubaneswar police and Nayagarh police, to arrest the accused.
Sources in Chandaka police said Ola and Smruti Rekha became friends on Instagram in December 2023. The woman’s husband is known to be working in Singapore, it added.
The Commissionerate Police booked the trio under Section 364 (A) and 34 of IPC and produced them in a local court Friday.
Debadurllav Harichandan, OP
