New Delhi (PTI): A 40-year-old man has been apprehended from Maharashtra in connection with the kidnapping of a man in northwest Delhi to recover a loan taken by the victim, police said on Monday.
The accused, identified as Gyaneshwar Chavhan (40), a resident of Maharashtra’s Jalna district, was arrested in connection with the abduction of Guddu Saroj, the police said.
A PCR call was received on December 27 regarding Saroj's alleged kidnapping by unknown people in a car near Panchvati, opposite Azadpur Mandi. Initially, the caller, a passerby, could not provide further details, following which CCTV footage from the area was scanned.
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“On December 29, a complainant approached the police and reported that his friend, Guddu Saroj, a resident of Adarsh Nagar, had been kidnapped around 7.30 pm on December 27 near Panchvati, Azadpur Mandi,” a senior police officer said.
He also alleged that one of the accused, identified as Rajaram, a resident of Jalna, Maharashtra, was demanding money for the victim’s release. A case was registered under Sections 140(3) (kidnapping or abducting in order to murder or for ransom etc) and 3(5) (joint liability) of the BNS and an investigation was initiated, the police said.
During the probe, the police analysed footage from more than 50 CCTV cameras, which showed the victim being abducted by two men in a car. The car, bearing a Maharashtra registration number, was identified and traced to the Jalna district, he said.
Acting on technical surveillance, a police team travelled to Maharashtra, and during the intervening night of December 31 and January 1, rescued the victim from a remote farm area in the Panewadi village in the district. Chavhan was arrested during the operation, the police said.
The operation was challenging as local residents attempted to obstruct the police action, posing a potential risk to the victim’s life, but the team managed to safely rescue him and apprehend the accused, the officer added.
During interrogation, Chavhan allegedly confessed to committing the crime along with his brother Rajaram and another associate, Somnath Udadange of Ambad, the police said. The accused also revealed that the kidnapping was carried out to recover money related to an outstanding loan taken by the victim.
The police said efforts are on to trace and arrest the remaining accused.
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Sydney (AP): England weathered multiple setbacks with skipper Ben Stokes limping from the field and opener Zak Crawley dismissed in the first over of the second innings before rallying to reach 80-1 at lunch Wednesday on Day 4 of the fifth and final Ashes test.
Opener Ben Duckett posted un unbeaten 40, his highest score of the series, but got a huge reprieve minutes before the interval when he fended a Michael Neser delivery and gloved it into the slips, where Cameron Green dropped a chance while diving in front of his skipper, Steve Smith.
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Duckett, who was on 37 at the time, was beaten by the next ball but survived the session. Jacob Bethel was not out 28. England still needed 103 to make Australia bat again at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
After dismissing Australia for 567, giving the hosts a 183-run lead, England's second innings started badly when Mitchell Starc struck in the first over to dismiss Crawley lbw on the fifth ball.
As he so often is, Starc was dangerous with his full, swinging deliveries early and Crawley, trying to leave, was trapped lbw without offering a shot to a ball that hit him high on the back pad. England reviewed the decision but the DRS technology upheld the umpire's original decision and England was 4-1.
Duckett got some edges that didn't carry to the wicketkeeper or slips early but settled into his best innings of the tour, hitting six boundaries in his 48-ball innings.
He and Bethell combined in a 76-run second-wicket stand that restored some confidence for the tourists.
The occasional ball was rearing up steeply off a length. Bethell was on 27 when he had to be assessed after a 140 kph (87 mph) short ball from Green glanced his batting helmet before skidding away to the boundary for four leg byes.
The follow-up ball was also a bouncer which the England batter ducked away from.
Stokes injured
England picked up the last three wickets for 49 runs after the Australians resumed at 518-7 but the morning session was overshadowed by an injury to Stokes. He bowled 10 deliveries before leaving the field, leaving question marks over his participation in the remainder of the SCG test. England team management said Stokes was being assessed for a right adductor complaint.
Australia's innings
Australia's commanding innings was built on centuries from stand-in opener Travis Head, his third of the series, and Steve Smith (138) and a late contribution from allrounder Beau Webster, who remained unbeaten on 71.
The Australians will be pushing for victory to complete a 4-1 series win after retaining the Ashes in 11 days of action with wins in the first three tess. England is determined to narrow the margin after its drought-breaking win in the fourth test at Melbourne.
Smith was 129 overnight but didn't settle into a rhythm before he was caught behind off Josh Tongue's bowling, ending a 107-run eighth-wicket partnership with Webster.
The last two wickets fell within six deliveries, with Starc (5) bowled by a full delivery from Tongue that moved late off the seam and off-spinner Will Jacks (1-34) having Scott Boland caught for a first-ball duck at first slip.
Tongue finished with figures of 3-97 from 20 overs.
The century was Smith's 13th in Ashes tests, the 37th of his career and his fifth at the Sydney Cricket Ground. With it, he moved up to sixth on the all-time list of most test centuries.
