Kolkata, Jul 10 (PTI) Police have rescued five Gujarat residents, including two minors, who were allegedly ‘kidnapped’ and confined in different places in West Bengal, officials said on Thursday.
The victims — Yogesh Kumar Dabhi (33), his wife Kajalben, their son and two daughters, and Dabhi’s cousin — were rescued on Wednesday from a house in Kalyani, Nadia district.
Two accused, Samir Das and Jogeswar Kamat, were arrested on charges of abduction and extortion.
They were also booked on charges of extorting money from them in the pretext of preparing documents to immigrate to Canada, a police officer said.
A complaint was lodged with Rabindra Sarobar police station by Vishal Patel Rajinikanth, a resident of Kadi in Mehsana district, Gujarat, stating that he had accompanied the five persons to Kolkata.
The complainant claimed that they got in touch with a travel agency that assured them of “manufacturing” passports and other travel documents to help them move to Canada. After coming to Kolkata, they were made to stay in a hotel near the airport,” the officer said.
Later, the victims were shifted to an accommodation on Lake Terrace Road on June 26. On July 3, they left for the airport leaving Vishal alone. After that, all communication with them ceased, Vishal alleged in the FIR.
“Vishal claimed to have received a WhatsApp call from Yogesh on July 3, in which he said they had obtained boarding passes but did not mention the destination. After that, there was no contact,” the officer added.
Acting on his complaint, a police team from Rabindra Sarobar police station started a probe and locatedthe five in a house in Kalyani, he added.
“The house in which they were kept belonged to Samir. Initial probe revealed that they were confined there after the family refused to pay Rs 15 lakh to prepare fake passports and other travel documents,” the officer said.
The arrested duo have been booked under sections 127(3), 137(2), and 61(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
“There are other people involved in the crime, and we have proof that a ransom was extracted from these people during their confinement,” the officer said. PTI SCH MNB
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