Police rescue man abducted by female friend for ransom; four arrested

The Ashok Nagar police have recently cracked an abduction case and rescued a 37-year-old manager of a private company who was abducted by his female friend and her associates demanding ransom.

The police managed to arrest four among the accused identified as Mohammed Asif Risaldar, 42, Mohammed Sohail Sheikh, 25, both from R.T. Nagar; Salman Pasha, 22, from D.J. Halli; and Mohammed Nawaz, 27, from K.G. Halli, on Saturday.

The female friend of the victim identified as Mahima Vat, who is the prime accused in the case along with her three associates are on the run. Efforts are on to track them down, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central Division) Hakay Akshay Machhindra, said on Saturday. 

According to the police, the victim, identified as Lawrence Melwin, worked as a manager at a Dubai-based travel company and had come to Bengaluru on a vacation and stayed at his parent’s house before checking into a hotel on Residency Road.

The incident came to light when the victim’s mother Leena Antony filed a complaint on July 16, claiming that her son, who was staying at the hotel was missing mysteriously and not responding to calls since July 14. The Ashok Nagar police registered a missing persons case and launched the probe.

During the investigation, it was revealed that on July 14, Melwin left in a car with Mahima allegedly booked by her. However, near Koramangala, the driver took a detour and he stopped a few meters ahead where two others got inside the car. Melwin’s face was allegedly covered with a cloth mask, and he was beaten up. The suspects allegedly took his phone and a bag containing ₹1 lakh.

He was then taken to a service apartment where he was tied up and tortured physically demanding ₹50 lakh in cash for his release. Melwin tried to negotiate it down to ₹20 lakh, but to no avail. Melwin told the police that the suspects used to lock him inside the room and feed him before going out. Melwin even tried to starve himself, thinking they would take him to the hospital. When he agreed to pay ₹50 lakh, they allegedly demanded ₹2.5 crore.

The case took an interesting turn on July 22 when a woman from a neighbouring apartment heard Melwin’s cries for help after the accused left. With the woman’s help, he called his sister and informed her that he was in trouble.

When his captors returned they realised that something was amiss and forced him into a car before dropping him off near Yeshwantpur. This was because the police had managed to arrest the four people who were keeping a watch on the apartment after tracing them through local intelligence. The police are now on the manhunt for the accused who are on the run.