12 August,2016 10:37 AM IST | | Faisal Tandel
Mumbra businessman kidnapped in Patna and released in Bihar's West Champaran district could recall only the sound of the calls for prayer and the minaret of a mosque
The azaan (the call for prayer) and the sight of a mosque's minaret from the window of the room he was confined in were all that kept up Khalid Noorul Kadri's strength through his five-day ordeal. The 49-year-old Mumbra realtor was kidnapped on July 31 from the Patna airport and released in Bihar's West Champaran district on August 5 on payment of a ransom of Rs 30 lakh. It was the azaan that brought him justice.
Kadri is kept gagged and tied in a small room. All he can see is a mosque's minaret and hear the azaan. Illustration/Uday Mohite
Police tracked down his abductors - Noor Alam (30), Saifullah Khan (45) and Irfan Khan (22), all from Bettiah in West Champaran district of Bihar - four days later with its help.
After the ransom call is placed, his wife drops off the money at Kandali, Bettiah, near the Bihar-Nepal border
Kadri, who dabbles with real estate across the state and has 'good contacts' in Uttar Pradesh, met Alam three years ago and help him with land deals for a 2% commission.
After his release, Kadri is questioned by the police. But all he can recall is the sound of the azaan and the sight of the minaret
Falling for the ruse
On July 25, Kadri got a call from Alam, asking for help to buy some land in Paterva on the Uttar Pradesh-Bihar boundary. He readily agreed. Alam booked a flight to Patna for him for July 31.
After tracking down the area where Kadri was confined, the police spot Noor Alam, follow him, and arrest all three abductors
"I reached the Patna airport at 7.45 am, and met the three there. They took me in a car, and offered me a beverage and food (laced with sedatives). I lost consciousness after that," he recalled.
On waking up, Kadri found himself in a small room, with his hands and legs tied, and mouth gagged. "That's when they revealed their real intentions, and asked for my wife's number to demand a ransom. They injected me with a sedative after this," he said.
Over the next five days, Kadri was left in the room, from where he could see only the minaret of a mosque and hear the azaan five times a day.
Meanwhile, after receiving the ransom call, his wife got in touch with the Mumbra police, who suggested that she pay up so as to allow them to track down the abductors.
"Our priority was to get the victim released," said Ashutosh Dumbre, joint commissioner of police, Thane.
Kadri's wife dropped the ransom as told at a spot in Kandali, Bettiah, near the Nepal border on August 5. The realtor was immediately released some distance away.
Weak lead
But when the police began questioning him, all he could remember was the azaan. But even such a flimsy lead was enough for the Mumbra police, the Patna police and the Thane crime branch to track down the abductors.
Nitin Thakre, senior police inspector, Thane crime branch, said the teams hit a wall after tracking down the number from which the ransom call was made. "A Nepal-based SIM card was used to throw us off track. Then, we began looking into the azaan clue. We figured the place where Kadri had been kept couldn't have been far from where he was released. But there were more than 20 mosques in that village."
Over the next two days, the sleuths patched the call to Kadri during azaan from each of the mosques.
"He couldn't identify any of the voices. Finally, on the night of August 7, he identified the voice that gave out the azaan during his capture," said Thakre.
Over the next two days, the sleuths kept a watch near the mosque and spotted Alam on the evening of August 9.
They followed him to his house and arrested the others as well. They also recovered R29.89 lakh of the ransom, three mobile phone and sedatives with syringes.
