Ghaziabad: Four men have been arrested for allegedly trying to kidnap a builder from the Link Road area and extort Rs 5 crore from him. Police said it was the son of the builder’s associate who plotted the abduction because he wanted quick money to support his expensive lifestyle.The builder, Rajesh Pandey, filed a complaint at Link Road police station on June 16. He alleged that five men intercepted his Nissan car near Indore Company in Jhandapur at 5.30pm. They pointed country-made pistols at Pandey and asked him to get into their Swift car. He did not step out but managed to raise an alarm and swerve around the Swift to escape.A case was registered against the men under Sections 61 (criminal conspiracy), 126(1) (wrongful restraint), 140 (kidnapping or abducting for murder or for ransom) and 62 (punishment for attempting to commit offences punishable with imprisonment for life or other imprisonment) of BNS. A special team was formed to investigate the matter.Deputy commissioner of police (city and trans Hindon) Dhawal Jaiswal said the team used CCTV footage and intelligence inputs to trace and arrest four men — Satyam Singh, 22, Gautam Mirdha, 25, Nitin Tiwari, 26, and Rohit alias Hitler, 29 — on June 21 from near Khatu Shyam Industrial Park. The team also seized the car allegedly used in the crime, a rope, two country-made pistols and three live cartridges from their possession.The police claimed that Satyam Singh told them that his father had been associated with Rajesh Pandey in property dealings for several years. He was aware of Pandey’s financial status and believed the builder frequently handled large amounts of cash. Satyam, who has a small online artificial jewellery business, wanted quick money to support his lifestyle and approached his friend Gautam with the plot of abducting the builder for financial gain.Investigators said Gautam subsequently introduced him to Nitin Tiwari and Rohit alias Hitler. Another associate, identified as Chandan, also joined the conspiracy. He is still on the run. The group allegedly met at Gautam’s residence in Noida and planned the kidnapping.Police said the men began conducting reconnaissance of the builder’s residence, office and travel routes between June 5 and 6. On June 16, after following Pandey for several hours, they intercepted his vehicle on a relatively isolated stretch of road by blocking it with a rented Swift car driven by Rohit. They then allegedly tried to force Pandey into their vehicle. However, the builder raised an alarm and managed to escape, forcing the men to flee.According to police, the men intended to intimidate the builder at gunpoint and compel him to arrange at least Rs 5 crore in cash before letting him go. The country-made pistols were allegedly procured through social media. The men pooled in Rs 25,000 to buy the weapons, which were delivered through an unidentified contact near a Noida metro station.Further legal proceedings are underway, while efforts are being made to arrest the absconding accused and investigate possible links to other criminal activities.
