Guwahati: Assam Police have revealed that the attempted robbery in Nalbari district on Thursday — in which an interstate gang targeted a lower court magistrate — was actually a planned kidnapping for ransom. The revelation came after a joint team from Ghograpar Police Station and the STF arrested four more persons from Bihar and Assam.Addressing a press conference on Saturday, Nalbari Superintendent of Police Bibekananda Das said the police team travelled to Bihar on Friday and arrested three accused — Mukesh Yadav, Prabhu Kumar, and Sunil Kumar Paswan — all residents of Hazaribagh district in Jharkhand.Police also arrested another suspect from Rangia town in Kamrup district who allegedly assisted the gang. His identity has been withheld due to the ongoing investigation into the group’s modus operandi.Das said the gang had targeted Judicial Magistrate First Class Nitish Kumar Sarma of the Nalbari district and sessions court. The accused had fled to Bihar after their plan was foiled.“The accused had been planning the crime for nearly two months. What was initially believed to be a robbery attempt turned out to be a kidnapping plot aimed at demanding ransom. The gang, comprising members from Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand, arrived in a private vehicle registered in Jharkhand and carried out the attempt on Thursday. However, locals in Ghograpar intervened and foiled the plan,” the SSP said.During the investigation, police found that the accused had previously visited Assam, concealing their identities while working part-time jobs in Rangia.A case has been registered at Ghograpar Police Station. Officers have recovered a firearm and a vehicle from the suspects. With the latest arrests, the total number of accused in custody has risen to six — including Ritesh Kumar from Jharkhand and Mahesh Kumar from Uttar Pradesh, who were detained earlier on Thursday.
