Bhubaneswar: A 22-year-old final-year engineering student and three of his friends have been detained by Info Valley police in Bhubaneswar for allegedly plotting a fake kidnapping to extort Rs 13 lakh in ransom to settle his mounting debts.
He had been staying at a rented house in Madanpur area with friends.
On April 15, the student’s father, a resident of Kalahandi district, filed a complaint at the Info Valley police station, reporting that unknown miscreants had abducted his son and were demanding the ransom for his safe return. A kidnapping case was registered and a special team was formed to locate him.
“Using technical inputs, human intelligence, and rapid ground action, our officers traced the supposed victim within an hour to a house near Madanpur panchayat office. He was rescued safely, and several associates were detained,” Commissioner of Police S Dev Datta Singh told a presser.
Further investigation revealed that the student had staged the entire abduction plot himself, with help from friends, to pressure his family into paying off debts. He had reportedly borrowed around Rs 10 lakh from friends over time due to lavish spending on expensive hobbies. He and his accomplices made calls to his parents from his phone, pretending he was being held by kidnappers demanding ransom.
A police officer said that probe is underway to determine how the substantial sum was spent. Given that the prime accused is a student, no formal arrest was made; instead, he and his friends were released with a stern warning.
