Bhubaneswar: Four youths, including two students of a private educational institution, were arrested for allegedly kidnapping a male nursing student of the same college in Bhubaneswar for ransom.
The arrested accused have been identified as Sandeep Kumar Rout (21), Ritik Muduli (22), Subham Pradhan (20) and Biswas Nayak (24).
Police said the motive behind the crime was a financial dispute between the victim Biswajit Pradhan (22), a fourth year BSc nursing student of the college, and the accused. Accused Sandeep and Ritik study in the same institution, according to ACP (Zone-III) Prashant Kumar Sahoo.
The incident comes days after six college students were arreste
d in Bharatpur area on May 21 for allegedly kidnapping a Plus II student to settle a financial dispute.
Police said the accused kidnapped Biswajit from the college campus on Tuesday afternoon in a vehicle. The sudden disappearance triggered panic among fellow students and faculty members, who immediately informed the police.
Police swung into action and special teams from Bharatpur police station, along with members of the special squad and technical staff, were deployed to track the suspects.
Police relied on advanced technical support, including call detail records and CCTV footage from the college campus and surrounding areas, to track the kidnappers’ movement.
As part of a planned operation, two police officers posing as family members and carrying the ransom money, approached the hideout in Bharatpur where the victim was being held. Simultaneously, another team raided the premises, rescuing the student unharmed. All four accused were taken into custody on the spot, the ACP said.
During interrogation, police found that the victim and accused were earlier involved in getting commissions by helping students clear online admission tests in various colleges. However, dispute cropped up when the victim began running a parallel operation and the accused youths kidnapped him, police sources said.
