In A daring act by criminals, a notorious gangster and his accomplice orchestrated a kidnapping right in front of the Sakkardara Police Station. Interestingly, the victim later managed to escape from the clutches of the goons. The kidnapping attempt was reportedly a fallout of a monetary dispute. The Crime Branch officials have arrested three accused, including the main perpetrator, within 12 hours of the kidnapping attempt. The arrested accused have been identified as Prashant alias Bobby Dhote (33), a resident of Plot No. 58, Nivrutti Park, Om Nagar, Sakkardara; Pranay Prakash Channe (33), a resident of Plot No. 338, near Women’s College, Nandanvan; Mohammad Wasim Mohammad Naeem Shaikh (32), a resident of Plot No. 341, New Nandanvan Layout. The fourth accomplice, Swapneel Mandalkar, a resident of New Nandanvan, remains at large.

 

The accused persons are infamous as members of ‘beat gang’ and actively engaged in criminal activities in Sakkardara, Nandanvan, Imambada and Ajni area. The cops are suspecting that the kidnapping incident stemmed from the dispute over cricket betting. According to police, Harshal Vinayak Ingle, a resident of Plot No. 29, Dhanwantari Nagar, Ramna Maroti, who works in the Metro Railway, had borrowed Rs 15,000 from Bobby Dhote, which he failed to repay. On Sunday at 1.10 am, as Harshal and his friends were leaving a beer bar opposite Sakkardara Police Station, Bobby and his partner forcibly took Harshal to Variety Chowk in Sitabuldi, police said. They also beat up Harshal and took his son’s certificate and mobile phone.

 

The kidnappers demanded a ransom of Rs five lakh. However, Harshal managed to free himself and immediately reported the incident to the Sitabuldi police, who then informed the Sakkardara police. A case has been registered against the accused under Sections 364 (a), 394, 342, 504, 506 and 34 of Indian Penal Code. The police, under the guidance of DCP (Detection) Mummaka Sudarshan, acted swiftly and arrested the accused.