After week's chase, 'abducted' Firozabad businessman found in Panipat

AGRA: Firozabad businessman Sanjeev Gupta, who had been missing for the past week, was finally traced to a hotel in Panipat, Haryana late on Friday evening. On Saturday, Firozabad senior superintendent of police (SSP) Ajay Kumar said prima facie the theory of kidnapping looked suspicious, and police were interrogating Gupta to find more about the case.
“We have come across some evidence which casts doubt on whether Gupta was abducted for ransom.We will reveal more about the case after the completion of the interrogation process,” Kumar said, addressing a press conference on Saturday.
Police said acting on a tip-off a joint team of the special task force (STF) and the crime branch set a perimeter around Swarn Mandir hotel in Panipat and caught hold of Gupta at the hotel’s entrance.
Gupta, who runs a school and other businesses in the district, had gone missing on July 22. His disappearance was followed by his family getting a ransom demand for Rs 100 crore. Gupta’s wife had got an FIR registered against one Neeta Pandey, her husband Pradeep, who is a clerk in the social welfare department, and a third person for “abducting” her husband. Interestingly, Neeta too had got a case registered against Gupta two months back for allegedly duping her of a huge amount of money.
The police had been suspecting the abduction theory from the start. "Nobody witnessed the incident and we have been trying to gather details with the help of CCTV footage. The family is pointing fingers at a couple known to Gupta for a long while," SSP Kumar had said earlier.
As many as six teams of Agra STF, Firozabad crime branch and local police had been continuously working on the case.
Gupta also remained tightlipped about the events of the past week. When asked who abducted him and how he reached Panipat, Gupta said he had told everything to the police, but did not elaborate.
IG (Agra zone) Mutha Ashok Jain, who announced a reward of Rs 15,000 to the
investigating teams, said, “Gupta has told us a story, but is not able to substantiate it. The entire allegation of abduction and ransom demand is suspicious. The case is still being worked out.”
Following his disappearance, Gupta’s wife Sarika informed police that a message demanding ransom of Rs 100 crore was sent to various family members. The sender allegedly threatened to kill the businessman if they informed the police.