Gang of inter-state kidnappers nabbed in Nirmal

Superintendent of Police Praveen Kumar produced the accused persons before pressmen in Nirmal on Thursday

Nirmal: A gang of inter-state kidnappers, comprising four men and a woman, was nabbed by Nirmal police, on charges of kidnapping a rural medical practitioner and extortion on Thursday. A country-made pistol, two bullets, five mobile phones and two motorbikes were recovered from them. Two more accused persons were absconding.

Superintendent of Police Ch Praveen Kumar said the suspects arrested were Banoth Maruthi, a resident of Maddulapalli village in Jagtial district, Rathod Uddal and Rathod Karthik from Maharashtra, Rathod Gnaneshwara belonging to Burugupalli village in Narsapur (G) mandal and a 22-year old woman of Jouli village in Sarangpur mandal.

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Two accused persons, Rahul Razak from Madhya Pradesh and Ankamolla Shravan, a resident of Velpur mandal in Nizamabad district, were still at large. The complainant was Ravi Kumar, a resident of Kummari Kunta in Peddapalli district. The SP said Maruthi had confessed to abducting Ravi Kumar on Tuesday after summoning him to the Nirmal bus-stand with the help of the woman, who befriended the RMP after consulting him six months ago.

The gang initially demanded Rs 50 lakh, but agreed to release him if he paid Rs 5 lakh. They took Ravi Kumar to the borders of Nirmal and Maharashtra in a car under the pretext of visiting a temple. They had procured the weapon from Razak with the help of Shravan by paying Rs.50,000.

Though the gang tied his legs and hands in the forests of Dhanora on the borders of Maharashtra and thrashed him when he refused to pay the ransom, Ravi Kumar managed to free himself while being shifted to another location on a motorbike. He had raised an alarm at Vanjiri village in Sarangapur mandal and approached the Sarangapur police, who in turn booked a case and took up investigation.