'Missing' man reaches Surat while cops look for him in Agra

Four days after he was allegedly drugged in Surat, a Khar businessman who went missing last Monday was abandoned in Jalpaiguri, West Bengal after his abductors got to know that Gujarat and Mumbai police had got whiff of the kidnapping.

Safe and sound: Bandra resident Arshad Shaikh, who went missing on August 19, recuperating at a civil hospital in Agra

Acting on a complaint lodged by the victim's wife, the Mumbai police, who sent a police team to Gujarat, are still looking out for the bizman in Surat, blissfully unaware that he is recuperating at hospital in Agra.

On August 19, Bandra resident Arshad Shaikh, who owns a garment factory in Khar and Surat, left for Gujarat to conduct a deal with his business partner Kamlesh Kothari.

The following day while boarding a train for Mumbai from Surat railway station, four unidentified person approached him and told him that Kothari had called him back, and that he should accompany them.

After sitting in the car, Arshad was injected with a drug by the abductors and he woke up in a room in an unknown location.

The kidnappers then robbed the Rs 50,000 he had with him, and the gold chain and ring he had on him. They asked him to pay up the Rs 45 lakh allegedly owed to Kothari, threatening him that he would not be let off unless he paid the amount.

Meanwhile, worried that Arshad had still not returned home after three days and that his mobile phone was switched off, his wife Danisha approached the Khar police station and filed a missing complaint. She also expressed her anxiety to the cops, stating that some businessmen from Gujarat may have something to do with her husband's disappearance.

Copspeak
"Following the complaint, a police team was dispatched to Surat to investigate the matter. They are coordinating with the Gujarat police," said Vikas Sonawane from Khar police station.

According to Arshad, who is currently undergoing treatment at a hospital in Agra, the kidnappers drugged him, and drove him by car to Jalpaiguri in West Bengal. While he was still unconscious, they abandoned him on Friday when they got to know that Gujarat and Mumbai police were on their trail.

With no money left, he then requested some locals to help him purchase a train ticket to Mumbai, who willingly obliged. A relieved Arshad then called up his wife and informed her of his release. He set off for Mumbai, but during transit he started feeling ill after which he informed his in-laws residing in Shahjang, Uttar Pradesh.

The in-laws asked him to alight at Tandula railway station, and after picking him up drove him to the civil hospital in Agra.

After learning of the kidnapping, the Agra police officials visited the hospital and inquired about the incident. u00a0