LUCKNOW: A Rs 50 lakh ransom plot allegedly ended in the killing of a KGMU nursing officer and his friend after the kidnappers failed to extract the money they were demanding, police said on Friday.Five people have been arrested in connection with the crime, while the bodies of KGMU assistant nursing superintendent Pawan Kumar Garg, 43, and his friend Sachin Vishwakarma, 24, are yet to be recovered from the Ghaghra river.According to DCP, North Zone, Amit Anand, the alleged mastermind, Nitin Mishra, was acquainted with Garg and knew that he had recently arranged around Rs 50- Rs 60 lakh, which he intended to invest in property.Police said Mishra allegedly shared the information with four associates and the group hatched a plan to abduct Garg and extort Rs 50 lakh from him.The plan was set in motion on September 27, when Mishra allegedly called Garg to Bhitauli crossing.Garg arrived with Vishwakarma, following which the two were taken to a dhaba in Itaunja. After they ate and consumed alcohol, an argument reportedly broke out.The accused then allegedly took the two men to an under-construction house in Annamau and confined them in separate rooms.The ransom demand followed. Police said the accused demanded Rs 50 lakh from Garg, while Mishra allegedly drove away Garg’s SUV from the dhaba and abandoned it in Sitapur in an attempt to throw investigators off the trail.But the money never came. When Garg reportedly told the kidnappers that he could not arrange the ransom, the accused allegedly feared that releasing the two men would expose the abduction.Around noon on September 28, police said, the accused strangled Garg and Vishwakarma with ropes.Hours later, at around 5.30pm, the accused allegedly transported the bodies through Mahmudabad to Chalhari Ghat, where they threw them into the Ghaghra river from a bridge.The disappearance had triggered a police investigation after Garg went missing from his residence on September 27.A missing-person report was lodged at Madiyaon police station on September 29. Investigators subsequently pieced together CCTV footage, toll-plaza records, vehicle movements and technical surveillance, eventually zeroing in on the suspects.On October 2, following a complaint by Garg’s brother, police registered a case under Section 140(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and arrested the five accused, Nitin Mishra alias W, 38, a confectionery shop owner; Avnish Kumar Maurya, 38, a vegetable wholesaler; Prakash Singh, 24, an auto-rickshaw driver; Suraj Singh, 32, a tea-stall owner; and Mohit Singh, 26, an accounts handler at Maurya’s business.Police said the arrests were made by a joint team of Madiyaon police, the Lucknow Crime Branch and North Zone surveillance and crime units.Investigators recovered Garg’s gold chain, ring, driving licence, Aadhaar photocopies and bank statement, besides a Thar SUV and an i10 allegedly linked to the crime.The investigation has also turned towards Garg’s financial dealings, including information that he had recently sold a plot in Kalli West and was considering reinvesting the proceeds in property.Police are examining the accused’s criminal histories, CCTV footage and forensic evidence to establish the complete sequence of events and determine whether others were involved.Meanwhile, an extensive search for the two bodies is underway at the Ghaghra, with SDRF, PAC, water police, divers and local police teams deployed at the site.
