Kota: In a daring rescue Monday, the Kota city police successfully rescued two Gujarat-based businessmen who had been kidnapped for ransom from their temporary residence in Maharashtra four days earlier. The operation took place near the Bhadana petrol pump under the Railway Colony police station, leading to the arrest of two Maharashtra-based suspects with arms and live cartridges.According to Kota city Superintendent of Police (SP) Tejeshwani Gautam, the rescued individuals, identified as Jayesh Dattani and Paddaya Himmat Bhai, had been working for a Surat-based company in Maharashtra for the past two years. The kidnappers, Mohammed Juned (30) and Nehal Ahmed (26), both from Amaravati, were arrested with two pistols and a live cartridge during the police operation.The businessmen’s harrowing ordeal began on Thursday morning when the accused, along with three accomplices, stormed the businessmen’s temporary home in Malkapur and abducted them at gunpoint. The victims were then severely beaten and bound inside an SUV as they were transported to a farmhouse near Amravati, Maharashtra.While at the farmhouse, the kidnappers forced Dattani and Himmat Bhai to contact their families, falsely claiming they were on a travel trip. The gang then filmed their explicit videos with a woman member of their group, threatening to release the footage unless a ransom of Rs 20 lakhs was paid. The kidnappers directed the businessmen to call their boss, the owner of their company in Surat, to demand the ransom.As the situation unfolded, three of the accomplices left the farmhouse to secure the ransom, while Juned and Nehal transported the two businessmen in a luxury vehicle through various districts in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, ultimately arriving in Kota.Acting on a tip-off, the District Special Team (DST) and Railway Colony police conducted a swift joint operation, leading to the rescue of the businessmen and the arrest of the two suspects. SP Gautam confirmed that the investigation is ongoing to apprehend the remaining members of the gang, including Illu, Aman Pathan and Saddam.During preliminary interrogations, the arrested suspects revealed a history of their criminal activities, including the extortion of a Jaipur-based victim of Rs 8 lakhs in July 2023 and a ransom of Rs 11 lakhs from a politician in Nandpur, Maharashtra, in Aug 2023. They also admitted to extorting Rs 2 lakhs from a teacher in Amaravati, police said. Police are continuing their investigation to uncover more details of the gang’s operations.
