Surendranagar, Nov 6 (PTI) Police have registered a case against four persons for allegedly kidnapping the priest of a famous temple in Chotila town of Gujarat’s Surendranagar district and extorting Rs 10 lakh from him, an official said on Wednesday.
Four persons, including main accused Yuvraj Khachar, kidnapped 29-year-old Gautamgiri Gosai, who is the priest of the Chamunda Mataji temple in Chotila, in the evening of November 4 and released him at night after extracting Rs 10 lakh from his relatives, said Deputy Superintendent of Police, Vishal Rabari.
Three other accused named in the FIR, registered on Tuesday at Chotila police station, are Satyaraj Khachar, Haresh Jalu and one Shivabhai.
They have been booked on the charges of kidnapping, extortion, assault and under relevant sections of the Gujarat Money Lenders Act, Rabari said, adding that no one has been arrested yet.
As per the FIR, Gosai serves as a priest at the Chamunda Mataji temple in Chotila.
“Nearly eight years ago, Gosai helped his friend Virbhadrasinh Chauhan in borrowing Rs 1.5 lakh from Yuvraj at an interest of 12.5 per cent. When Chauhan failed to repay the loan, Yuvraj started demanding money from Gosai because he was the mediator in the deal,” Rabari said.
On November 4, Yuvraj called Gosai and asked him to pay Rs 40 lakh, which Chauhan was supposed to pay on the loan amount and interest. “As requested by Gosai, Yuvraj, accompanied by three others, came to meet him at a shop in Chotila town in the evening to sort out the issue,” Rabari said.
“During the meeting, the accused started threatening Gosai and then forced him to sit in their car. They threatened to kill him and took him to a nearby farm. Yuvraj then called Gosai’s brother and asked him to arrange Rs 10 lakh as ransom for releasing the victim,” he said.
After receiving cash, the accused released Gosai in the night and warned that they will kill his family if he informs the police, the DySP said, adding that efforts are on to nab the culprits. PTI COR PJT NP
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