Anantapur police on Wednesday morning rescued Hyderabad-based dentist Dr. Behjath Hussain, after he was kidnapped from his yet-to-be inaugurated clinic on Tuesday afternoon.
He was being shifted to Udupi in an inhuman condition in an SUV. The police could nab only one kidnapper, Sanjay (25) while three others fled in the cover of darkness.
The dentist, who is also a realtor, was kidnapped for a ransom of Rs. 10 crore in bitcoins. When rescued, Dr. Hussain’s nails were cut and injuries were found on his face and head, the Rapthadu police told The Hindu.
He was given first-aid and handed over to a team of Cyberabad police, which reached Anantapur by noon. Anantapur police informed their counterparts in Cyberabad at 6.30 a.m. about the doctor’s rescue. Totally 13 persons were involved in the kidnap and they used a vehicle of Maharashtra registration - MH 40 A 7128 to shift him from Hyderabad to Udupi.
Rapthadu Sub-Inspector P.T. Anjaneyulu along with his team checked all vehicles at Marur Toll Plaza since 2 a.m. and the kidnappers on coming to know about the presence of police turned towards Kanaganapalli at Dolphin Dhaba on National Highway no 44. After a hot chase for an hour from two different directions and taking assistance from the mobile location tracking system, the vehicle was intercepted at Bukkacherla village. Out of the four, three kidnappers fled under the cover of darkness, said the sub-inspector.
Wrapped in clothes, the kidnapper stuffed Dr. Hussain in the legroom. According to the victim, who is also a real-estate operator having Prestige Royal Woods Villas in Kismatpur, he was kidnapped by four unknown persons clad in burqas from his clinic and confined him to a room in an undisclosed place in Hyderabad.
The Marathi speaking kidnappers handed over the doctor to four others, who asked them to go either to Bengaluru or Shimoga in Karnataka. They started from Hyderabad past midnight. The Cyberabad police had alerted the Anantapur SP B. Satya Yesu Babu about the possible movement of the kidnappers on the National Highway based on their cell phone locations.
Later in the evening, Cyberabad Commissioner of Police V.C. Sajjanar said that Dr. Hussain was abducted by his ‘close relative’ Mustafa, who is into the hospitality industry in Hyderabad and Pune.
He said that seven people in connection with the case were arrested, while five others including kingpins Mustafa and Mubashir Ahmed alias Khaled are still at large.
The arrested are Sumit Chandrakanth Bhosale (28), Akshay Balu Vairekar (24), Vicky Datta Shinde (20) from Pune, Mohd. Raheem (18) from Chandrayanagutta, Mohd. Imran (21), Mohd. Irfan (25) from Kukatpally and Sanjay (19) of Udupi.
“Mustafa became close to the victim’s family with a plea of getting a flat on rent for Mubhashir in the newly constructed building. Without anticipating the danger from the accused, Dr. Hussain gave a flat on rent to Mubashir at Bandlaguda,” Mr. Sajjanar said, adding that since then they were keeping a close on the movements of the dentist and were waiting for a ‘right time’ to execute their plan.
On Tuesday afternoon, four people clad in burqas barged into the clinic and hit the victim with a toy pistol. His assistant was locked in the washroom with hands tied and mouth gagged.
“They took him to Yellammabanda and sent a voice message to the family members demanding Rs. 10 crore in bitcoin,” the Commissioner said.
He said that 12 teams consisting over 100 police personnel were pressed into action to trace and rescue Dr. Hussain.
Mr. Sajjanar advised people not to disclose their financial issues with unknown persons or servants.
