Jaipur: The three men arrested Friday for allegedly attempting to kidnap a chartered accountant for a Rs 20 lakh ransom had tried to carry out a similar kidnapping earlier, police said Saturday. Their first attempt came around 10 days before the Sept 10 incident but failed, police said.The accused — Chetan Sharma alias Lala, Zainul Khan and Hanuman Prajapat — allegedly lacked the experience to execute the kidnappings, with the earlier attempt failing during the planning or execution stage, police said. The details emerged during their interrogation after they were arrested Friday.Police said Chetan had been planning the Central Park kidnapping for about a month. He allegedly used an electric scooter to conduct a recce of the park and had visited the area around 10 days before the Sept 10 attempt, hoping to find a wealthy-looking man arriving alone in a luxury car.The attempt failed because of the heavy crowd. Chetan allegedly waited for several hours before leaving without finding a suitable target.The plan was to force the victim into his own car, drive him to a hideout at Nai Ki Thadi and demand ransom from his family. Police said the accused wanted to raise Rs 20 lakh to repay their debts and spend some of the money on leisure.The Sept 10 attempt targeted chartered accountant Rajiv Gupta. The accused allegedly forced him into his Mercedes and drove him out of Jaipur. Gupta fought back and tried to escape, following which the car crashed into a roadside ditch. The accused abandoned the vehicle and fled towards a nearby forest and hilly area.Police have recovered two motorcycles, an electric scooter, a fake pistol and a knife allegedly used in the crime.Investigators also found that Chetan had previously been accused in a kidnapping case in Kho Nagoriyan. Police said he owed more than Rs 12 lakh, while Hanuman had outstanding debt of around Rs 11 lakh.A fourth suspect, who police believe was involved in the conspiracy, is still absconding.
