Five men held for 'kidnapping' bizman in Mysuru
Mysuru (PTI): The Mysuru police on Monday said they have rescued a businessman, who was allegedly kidnapped by a gang for a ransom, and arrested five men in this connection.
Lokesh, a resident of Vijayanagar, who was involved in finance and real estate, was abducted on December 6, they said.
According to police, the prime accused, Santosh, had known Lokesh for the past three months and believed he possessed significant wealth. Acting on this assumption, he allegedly planned the abduction.
Citing preliminary investigation, a senior police officer said that Santosh was aware that Lokesh visited a club every day and allegedly took disadvantage of it.
Chilli powder was thrown into Lokesh’s eyes before he was forcibly taken away in a hired Tata Sumo. The kidnappers called one of Lokesh's friends and demanded nearly Rs 20 lakh as ransom.
Lokesh's wife grew suspicious when his phone was switched off and did not return home by 8.30 pm, said the police.
Based on her complaint, a kidnapping case was registered at Vijayanagar police station, police said.
Mysuru City Police Commissioner Seema Latkar said initial inquiry pointed to the involvement of someone known to the victim.
“We went to the scene of crime and found chilli powder and a bullet bike. So, we arrived at the conclusion that the victim was forcefully taken away,” she told reporters here.
She added that after sometime, the victim's wife received a voice note from Lokesh assuring her that he would be back home by 11.30 pm and that she need not worry. Later, Lokesh's friend received a ransom call from the kidnappers demanding Rs 15-20 lakhs.
“Whoever he (accused) had called, we tracked through that number and traced the location to Hampapura. Based on CCTV footage and technical evidence, we came to know that the accused had hired a Tata Sumo and taken him,” Latkar said.
Police formed five teams and, convincing the kidnappers that the money would be paid, they laid a trap and nabbed the suspects from K R Nagar and rescued Lokesh.
“The main accused is Santosh. The accused thought that the victim had a lot of money, so he tried to kidnap him. Within a few hours of kidnapping, we rescued the victim and arrested all the accused from K R Nagar,” the Commissioner added.
The arrested men, police said, are engaged in masonry and painting work. No physical harm was caused to the victim apart from the chilli powder attack during the kidnapping.
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Leadership change: Will abide by Cong high command decision, says Siddaramaiah
Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday reiterated that he will abide by the Congress high command's decision on the leadership change issue in the state.
The CM has been repeatedly stating for the last few days that he and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar will go by what the high command decides on the chief minister change.
"Will abide by whatever the high command decides," Siddaramaiah told reporters in response to a question on his son and Congress MLC Yathindra Siddaramaiah's statement that there is no question of leadership change as of now, and that he believes that the former will continue as CM for five years.
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Earlier in the day, Yathindra claimed that the Congress high command has said that there is no leadership change in the state.
"I have been saying this, which is not new. I feel that, as of now, there is nothing like leadership change. I hope that he (Siddaramaiah) will complete his five-year term," Yathindra told reporters at the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha here.
To a question that Siddaramaiah had been asked to come to Delhi in January, Yathindra said the Congress high command calls the chief minister for various issues. So he will go there and discuss. He will also talk about the prevailing situation in the state, he said.
Yathindra also admitted that there was confusion over the leadership issue because, "the Deputy Chief Minister was asked whether he wants to be the CM. There are aspirants in all the political parties. The high command has said that they will not decide it now."
According to Yathindra, the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) elects a candidate for a definite period. It is the CLP which decides who should be the chief minister.
He claimed that, "The Congress high command has made it clear that there is no leadership change as of now."
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Yathindra further claimed that high command had a meeting recently where they said they have not taken any decision and postponed it. "So, as of now, there is no talk on the change of leadership in Karnataka," he claimed.
The power tussle within the ruling party had intensified amid speculation about a change in chief minister in the state, after the Congress government reached the halfway mark of its five-year term on November 20.
The speculation was fuelled by an alleged "power-sharing" agreement involving Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar in 2023.
However, both CM and Deputy CM had recently held breakfast meetings at each others residences, on the instructions of the high command, which is seen as a move to pause the leadership tussle between the two and to signal Siddaramaiah's continuation as the CM for the time being, especially ahead of the Belagavi legislature session.
