Mumbai: Police rescue kidnapped hotelier after 12-hour chase

The accused are displayed on Wednesday

A 45-year-old Andheri-based hotelier, Anup Kumar Shetty, was rescued and seven people were arrested by Zone 10 of the MIDC police after a 12-hour chase into the jungles of Wada and Sahapur. According to the police, the kidnapping occurred around 3.30 pm on Monday on the premises of Veera Residency Hotel at Chakala.

The main accused, Vijay Okirkar, initially served as the reception manager at the establishment but took over as a partner in December. Shetty and he had differences regarding financial matters. A police officer said, "Okirkar roped in three relatives - Swapnil Okirkar, Chandrakant Okirkar and Vaibhav Jankar - to pose as a waiter, housekeeping staffer and driver and ensured they were present at the hotel on Monday morning."

Veera Residency Hotel at Chakala in Andheri East

In the afternoon, the trio - who wielded two air guns and knives - and Okirkar threatened Shetty at gunpoint, demanding money. The accused fired into the air both inside and outside the hotel and threatened the staff. Later, they snatched the car keys from Shetty's driver and drove off. The accused's actions were captured by the hotel's CCTV cameras. The scared hotel staff then informed the cops about the incident and the police began attempting to trace the accused. By evening, the authorities learnt that the car was at Padgha near Kasara Ghat.

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It was learnt that in order to collect the ransom, Okirkar hired three persons, Manoj Lokhande, Sagar Gangurde and Gurnath Waghe. The latter has a criminal record at the Titwala police station. Okirkar had promised to pay them R1 lakh each.

The accused had also called one of the hotel staff and demanded Rs 50 lakh. By around 3 am on Tuesday, the location of the accused had been ascertained and the vehicle was brought to a halt in a dramatic manner at Shahpur. All four accused in the automobile were arrested on the spot while the other three were arrested from Mumbra. The police recovered eight mobile phones, two air guns, two knives and Rs 48,000, which they had snatched from the victim, from the accused.