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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PM Modi shifts to 'Bankim babu' as TMC objects to 'Bankim da' reference
New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi's reference to Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, the author of Vande Mataram, as 'Bankim da' was objected to by the Trinamool Congress on Monday, prompting him to add the more respectful suffix 'babu' to the legendary poet's name.
Trinamool Congress member Saugata Roy, during the debate on 150 years of national song Vande Mataram in the Lok Sabha, asked the prime minister to use the suffix 'babu' while referring to Chatterjee.
"I will say Bankim Babu. Thank you, I respect your sentiments," the prime minister said.
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In a lighter vein, Modi quickly asked whether he could still refer to Roy as 'dada'.
"I can call you dada, right? Or you have an objection to that, too," the prime minister said.
Earlier, the prime minister had asked about Roy's well-being when the Trinamool Congress member had made some remarks at the start of the debate.
Roy is the fifth term Lok Sabha member from Dum Dum constituency in West Bengal.
