Mumbai: Ex-driver behind kidnap, extortion of estate agent

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The Dadar cops have managed to crack the kidnapping and extortion case of a real estate agent recently. The have arrested six people from Mumbai and Kolhapur after preliminary investigations revealed that the mastermind in the case is an ex-driver of the kidnapped man. He had hatched a plan with the help of one of his associates and four friends from Kolhapur.

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Sayyed Mehandi, 62, a Mazgaon resident, was abducted from Prabhadevi on August 20 by four men who said they were Income Tax officials. These 'officials' took Mehandi to Pune, Satara and Kolhapur on the pretext of investigations.

He was let go of only after he paid Rs 35 lakh in cash on August 23. Mehandi then filed an FIR at Dadar police station on August 26. The police formed a team to investigate the matter and grilled Mehandi's current employees.

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Through them, the cops learnt that a driver named Eknath Chavhan, 29, had quit the job a couple of months ago. The cops then found that a helper at Mehandi's house, named Naresh Gurav, was in constant touch with Chavhan. When cops grilled Gurav, he spilled the beans.

"Gurav said Chavhan was unhappy with Mehandi as he did not pay well. He had a small quarrel with him, too, over salary before leaving the job. But, Chavhan stayed in touch with Gurav asking him about Mehandi. He had told Gurav that he would teach him a lesson for not giving a hike of R2,000," an officer said. The cops left for Kolhapur where they nabbed Chavhan, Pandurang Bote, 29, Santosh Patil, 26, Mohammed Bagwan, 24, and Ajit Patil, 32.

Also Read: Man held on suspicion of kidnapping minor in New Delhi

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