5 Arrested For Retired Officer’s Kidnap & Rs 1.5 Cr Ransom Demand In Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: The police have arrested five persons for alleged kidnap of a senior citizen and ransom demand of Rs 1.5 crore from his family in Bhubaneswar.

The Commissionerate Police, in a release on Thursday, stated that the five accused were arrested from different places following investigation into the case. A car and 5 mobile phones have also been seized from their possession.

As per the case, Manoj Mahapatra, a retired Civil Supplies Officer staying in Laxmisagar in the city, had gone to Jagannath Nagar to look after construction of his house there on March 24. But he did not return home on the day. Later, someone called his wife over phone and said they had kidnapped Mohapatra.

They demanded a ransom of Rs 1.5 crore to release Mohapatra. On being informed about the ransom demand by Mahapatra’s wife, the Commissionerate Police formed a special team to launch a rescue operation.

The police team came to know that the kidnappers had kept Mahapatra in Delang of Puri district and conducted a raid there. They rescued Mohapatra within 24 hours of his kidnap but the kidnappers managed to escape.

Following investigation, the police traced all the 5 kidnappers and arrested them, the release stated.