UPI ransom payment leads to kidnappers' arrest, trader's rescue

KOLKATA: In what otherwise seemed like a perfect kidnapping of a trader for ransom, the panic-stricken wife's unwitting transfer of part of the money via UPI to one of the kidnappers proved to be their Achilles' heel, landing them behind bars in Kolkata on Saturday.

Five kidnappers had abducted Timir Kanti Majumder, a trader from South 24 Parganas district's Kulpi, Wednesday from near Netaji Bhavan Metro station in Kolkata, where he had gone for some bank work. They kept him captive in an 11th-floor flat of a condominium on SC Mullick Road, near Jadavpur's Sulekha area.The accused used Majumder's phone to contact his wife via WhatsApp call, demanding a ransom of Rs 10 lakh, which was later negotiated down to Rs 5 lakh.

Panicked upon receiving the ransom calls, the victim's wife told the kidnappers she needed time to arrange the money. As a token amount, she sent Rs 10,000 via UPI to one of the accused, Suman Bose, police said.The UPI transaction gave police a breakthrough, leading to the arrest of all five accused within four hours of the rescue operation. "We located Bose near Sukanta Setu. He was nabbed and questioned extensively before he led us to the flat inside the Jadavpur condo.

He also helped us locate the victim," said an investigating officer."The main hurdle in the investigation was locating any suspect, as neither the complainant, Majumder's wife Tapasi, nor her family could provide any leads. The suspects weren't using their own mobile phones," said DC Priyabrata Roy. The accused had kept their phones switched off and used the victim's device to place ransom calls over a WiFi network.Police have booked accused Sajal Bose (43), Sudip Mazumder (39), Suman Bose (51), Samir Kumar Deb (51), and Sandipan alias Chima Das (39), for kidnapping for ransom, said Joint CP (Crime) Rupesh Kumar."It seems a dispute over financial transactions led to the trader's kidnapping. The accused claimed the victim owed them lakhs of rupees. However, the complainant denies this, saying Majumder was tricked in a business venture. What is clear is that the accused and the victim knew each other," said another officer.