Kalyan: A 22-year-old man from Nashik was allegedly lured to Jaipur for a cryptocurrency deal linked to online gaming and was abducted and held for ransom before a joint team of Kalyan Govt Railway Police (GRP) and crime branch personnel from Mumbai rescued him from Haryana on Oct 19.Police arrested two of the suspects, identified as Naveen and Mangala, and handed them over to Pratap Nagar police in Jaipur for further investigation. The abductors allegedly demanded Rs 15 lakh from the victim and Rs 7 lakh from his girlfriend, threatening to kill him if the ransom was not paid. When his father expressed his inability to arrange the money, the accused allegedly asked him to sell the family’s gold. The suspects also contacted the victim’s girlfriend through video calls and demanded money.The victim, identified as Neil Khetiya, was allegedly addicted to online gaming and needed cryptocurrency, particularly USDT (Tether), to purchase additional features in games. A friend from Gujarat allegedly told him that he could procure USDT at Rs 96.50 per unit, compared with the prevailing rate of around Rs 97 to Rs 97.50 among online gaming users.Lured by the prospect of earning a margin of 50 paise to Rs 1 per USDT, Khetiya allegedly contacted prospective buyers online to facilitate transactions. Some of them invited him to Jaipur for a deal, where he was allegedly abducted.On Oct 12, Khetiya met his girlfriend in the city before proceeding to Rajasthan. When he stopped answering calls, his family began searching for him, and a complaint was registered with Kalyan GRP. The abductors contacted his father and demanded Rs 15 lakh, threatening to kill Khetiya if the money was not paid.After learning about the ransom demand, Kalyan GRP alerted senior railway police officials. Khetiya was then moved to Haryana. The railway police cyber team tracked his location and traced him on Oct 19 and arrested the two suspects. “The two accused have been handed over to Pratap Nagar police in Jaipur, who are conducting further investigation,” DCP Pradnya Zedge told TOI.Police suspect that the kidnapping may be part of a larger racket linked to online gaming and cryptocurrency transactions. GRP suspects that at least six more people may have been involved and that further arrests are likely.Police sources said one of the arrested accused, Mangala, has a murder case registered against him in Rajasthan and was released on bail around six months ago.
