12 September,2024 03:22 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Rajesh Puri Pic/AFP
Veteran actor Rajesh Puri, who has worked on projects like âHum Log', âJaane Bhi Do Yaaro', and âSaath Nibhaana Saathiya' to name a few, shared his horrifying ordeal of escaping an organized kidnapping that took place in Delhi. Puri, in his interview with ETimes, shared how he was invited as a chief guest for an award function only to realize he was the subject of a scam that planned to demand a ransom of Rs 2 crore for his return.
Puri shared, "Earlier this month, I received a call from a man named Shivam, who claimed to represent an event company and invited me to an award function on September 8, supposedly affiliated with the government. He even paid me Rs 35,000 as part of my fee and sent me a return ticket for September 9. He also requested photos for the poster and a recorded speech, which made everything seem legitimate."
Puri mentioned that he generally asks for a formal invite, but didn't bother this time around since he is used to attending events. He further revealed how two men picked him up from Delhi airport and took him in a taxi.
"After about an hour, they stopped and transferred my luggage into the car. The new car had no license plate and the driver wore a mask, which raised my suspicions. When I asked him, he claimed it was a new car, but something felt off. They then started heading toward Meerut and when I asked why, they gave vague responses. That's when I realized something was wrong," said Puri.
Puri made the kidnappers believe that he had strong connections in Delhi which made them uncomfortable and they offered him to dine at a dhaba which was 12 km away from Meerut. During his pit stop, Puri was informed by one of the kidnappers of what had happened and asked him to leave.
He shared, "I was shocked when the guy told me, 'Aap wapas chale jaao. Yeh kuch bhi theek nahi hai, koi function nahi hai, aur aap kidnap ho gaye ho.' I demanded they drop me back as we were in an isolated area, or I would call for help. After a discussion among themselves, the men agreed to drop me at the border, where my brother-in-law picked me up."
Puri said that later that night he got a phone call from one of the men who dropped him off and explained the situation. "This guy told me that their car was being followed by armed men and that I was being taken to a remote location where they planned to demand a ransom of one or two crores. The story they were fed was that I owed Rs 35 lakh to the person who sent them, but they eventually realised it was a lie," the actor concluded.
