Mumbai: Merchant kidnapped, rescued by cops in 2 hrs

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In a joint operation, the L T Marg police station and Shivaji Park police station rescued a gold merchant within two hours of his kidnapping on Saturday evening. Police sources told mid-day that the gold merchant was kidnapped by four people in a car who took him out of Mumbai to kill him. However, the cops managed to trace him and arrested the four accused. The police also discovered that the car used by the accused belonged to a trustee of a well-known temple in the Juhu area.

The gold merchant is a resident of Mumbai. The accused have been identified as Mandar Babu Shetty, 38, Keshav Ganesh Mahadik, 27, Afzal Akhtar Sayyed, 35, and Mohammad Mukhtar Dada Hazrat Sheikh, 30. Shetty the prime accused, has been involved in a murder case in Mahim and is out after securing bail. The kidnapping took place around 6.55 pm on Saturday on Kalbadevi Road. A police source told mid-day, "The victim hadn't returned some gold to the accused and this is why he was kidnapped. After abducting him, the accused thrashed in the car."

According to the police, around 6.55 pm on July 6, Senior Police Inspector Dnyaneshwar Wagh of L T Marg police station received a message through the control room that some people in a Brezza car were abducting a person from Kalbadevi. The caller's mobile number was also provided. Wagh instructed the crime detection team, including Police Sub-Inspectors Shivaji Patil and Prashant Kamble, to work on the case.

Under the guidance of DCP (Zone-2), Dr Mohit Kumar Garg and ACP Jyotsna Rasm, a team was formed comprising Senior Wagh, PI (crime) Balkrishna Ghadigaonkar, PSI Shivaji Patil, PSI Prashant Kamble and constables Parulekar, Raut, Satpute, Salunkhe and Shinde, to nab the accused.