Siliguri, 08th January: A disturbing incident of kidnapping has come to light in Siliguri, where people are being targeted due to old rivalries, with ransom demands following the abduction.
According to the information, a youth named Avinash Pandit was sitting at a ‘paan’ shop in the Bhavesh More area late Monday night when two miscreants on a scooter forcibly kidnapped him. After the abduction, the kidnappers called the family members from Avinash’s mobile late at night and demanded a ransom of ₹1 lakh.
The youth’s father then went to the location provided by the kidnappers with ₹1 lakh to secure his son’s release. Meanwhile, the police had already set up surveillance and waited for the criminals. After several hours of drama, the police successfully rescued Avinash Pandit safely from the NJP area.
Within 24 hours of the incident, a joint operation between the Ashighar Outpost and NJP police station led to the arrest of five individuals on charges of kidnapping Avinash Pandit. The arrested accused are Pintu Mandal, Rahul Roy, Sujan Kundu, Hardik Kumar, and Roshan Lamzade. Among the arrested, Hardik Kumar is from Gujarat, and Roshan Lamzade is from Nepal. The other three accused are residents of different areas in Siliguri.
In response to the incident, Siliguri Metropolitan Police DCP Rakesh Singh stated that a case of kidnapping has been registered. However, the motive behind the kidnapping has not been clarified yet, as Avinash Pandit has not been able to give a complete statement to the police.
The five arrested individuals have been taken on remand after being produced in court, and further investigation is ongoing.