Noida: Three armed men, one of them dressed as a ‘cop’, abducted a GST consultant in Greater Noida West and held him captive for nearly seven hours before extorting Rs 29 lakh from his family, police said. The incident occurred on July 20, but the police repeatedly refused to register a complaint as the consultant did not give all the facts to the police.According to the consultant, Sandeep Kumar, he left his home in Gaur City that day at 11am to hand over a laptop to his colleague at a Tech Zone IV highrise — Ace Aspire. He was out in his Grand Vitara and had taken his dog along. He told the cops that barely 15 minutes into the drive, he took a turn towards Ace Aspire, but a car blocked his way.Three men posing as police officers stepped out. One of them was wearing a uniform with stars on his shoulders. Armed with weapons, they approached his car and forcibly opened his window. They told him that a case of tax evasion had been registered against him in Lucknow and he would have to accompany them to the state capital.When Kumar agreed to cooperate, the men abandoned their car and got into the Grand Vitara. They forced him onto the rear seat, and one of them sat beside him. Another took control of the steering while a third one occupied the passenger seat in the front. As they reached Tech Zone IV, the men stopped the car and allegedly forced Kumar to hand over his dog to a fourth person. At this point, Kumar claims he tried to escape, and in a scuffle with the man seated in the rear seat, his T-shirt was left in tatters.The men then drove through Gaur City and on Greater Noida Expressway before taking the car to Yamuna Expressway. The vehicle crossed the Jewar toll plaza around 1.18pm, Kumar claimed. The car was stopped at a roadside eatery, where a man whom the kidnappers called ‘Diwan’ brought them food and water. It then continued moving towards Agra. Kumar said the men mentioned recent encounters and threatened to kill him and his family. They told him they would drop the case against him and spare his life if he gave them Rs 50 lakh. After some negotiation, the men brought the demand down to Rs 30 lakh. Kumar then called his elder brother and asked him to arrange the money.The car was turned back towards Greater Noida and crossed the Jewar toll plaza again at 3.38 pm. The men then drove towards Knowledge Park, where they bought burgers from McDonald’s, before heading towards Noida Expressway.Kumar said he discreetly sent his location to his brother and asked him to bring the money there. The men instructed him to hand over the cash to a person named Kuldeep. One of them then went to bring the dog back to the car.After Kumar’s brother handed over Rs 29 lakh, the men left him and his car near an underpass close to Sector 96 and the Noida Authority office at 6pm. They threatened to kill him and his family if he reported the incident, Kumar claimed.His wife then called the police helpline, following which a team reached the spot. Kumar said he narrated the entire incident to them and was asked to visit Bisrakh police station the following morning. However, he ended up visiting the police station for the next seven days, with the police repeatedly refusing to register his complaint, he alleges.He then submitted a complaint to the Central Noida DCP on July 24. Video evidence of the incident was also provided on a pen drive to the DCP, he claimed. Sources said that Kumar didn’t share the facts with the police, and this delayed the FIR. However, police said they registered an FIR under BNS sections for extortion and wrongful confinement on Sunday.
