Bhubaneswar: What initially seemed a routine high-profile kidnapping in Odisha’s Balangir district has taken an unexpected turn, revealing a multi-crore dispute over an alleged illegal trade in a rare antique known as the “East India Company Hanuman coin.”
Narendra Sahu, a businessman involved in hotel and real estate ventures, was abducted in broad daylight on Friday.
The ordeal began when the businessman left his residence after receiving a series of phone calls and went missing. CCTV footage captured his vehicle traveling along the Balangir-Sonepur highway, trailed closely by another car. Following brief, anxious phone calls from Sahu in which he uttered only a few nervous words before hanging up, his alarmed family lodged an official complaint at the Balangir Town Police Station.
Under the direct supervision of Northern Range IG Himanshu Kumar Lal and Balangir SP Abhilash G, police launched a swift multi-team investigation. Tracking toll gate data and tracing a Kia Sonet used in the crime, Balangir Police collaborated with the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Police Commissionerate and Khandagiri Police to pinpoint the victim’s location. Within 24 hours, police rescued Narendra from the Khandagiri area in Bhubaneswar, where he had been physically assaulted and threatened during captivity.
During the operation, the primary accused, Kshitish Chandra Sahu, a native of Kandhamal residing in Bhubaneswar, was detained, while several other members of the group fled. A vehicle used in the abduction, Sahu’s own car and a weapon were seized.
Initial statements deepened the mystery when Narendra claimed he did not know his captors or the motive behind his abduction. However, intense face-to-face questioning conducted by the SP exposed stark discrepancies between the victim’s and the perpetrator’s accounts. Further interrogation uncovered the underlying motive: a long-running financial feud stemming from an illegal antique-coin transaction.
According to Northern Range IG Himanshu Kumar Lal, the dispute dates back four years to a deal in Sambalpur involving a so-called East India Company Hanuman coin purportedly valued at ₹2.7 crore. Narendra is alleged to have accepted that sum from Kshitish for the artefact but neither delivered the coin nor returned the money despite repeated demands over the intervening years. Frustrated, Kshitish is said to have assembled a seven-member gang, checked into a local hotel in Balangir to plan the operation, and abducted Narendra to force recovery of the funds
Police confirmed that kidnapping charges will be pressed against Kshitish Sahu and his accomplices, while Narendra Sahu faces action for his alleged role in the illegal coin transaction. Balangir Police continue to raid multiple locations in an effort to arrest the remaining six or seven absconding suspects. Further investigation is underway to piece together the full extent of the conspiracy.
