Thane: The Ambernath police have arrested 10 persons for allegedly kidnapping the son of a builder and seeking a ransom of Rs 40 crore. The key accused have been identified as Devidas Waghmare and Datttray Namdev, suspended BMC firemen, who wanted to use the money to return to job aspirants they had allegedly recently cheated.
About The Kidnapping
Builder Sanjay Shelke’s 20-year-old son was headed towards the office in Ambernath when the kidnappers intercepted the car, allegedly dragged him into their own car, and made the ransom call, threatening dire consequences if the money was not paid. Shelke rushed to the local police station and filed a case against an unknown person under sections 140 and 3(5) (kidnapping and common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Sudhakar Pathare formed eight teams comprising 100 personnel and reviewed footage from 45 CCTV cameras to arrest the accused. The police said that Pawar and Waghmare were suspended two months ago for allegedly cheating over 25 fire department job applicants and received Rs 8 lakh to Rs 10 lakh from each of them. A case was lodged against them at Agripada police station, but they were released on bail and later suspended.
Pawar was Shelke’s neighbour for several years and hatched the kidnapping plan with Waghmare. They initially demanded Rs 40 crore but finally settled at Rs 2 crore. They called Shelke, demanding that he share the number plate of the car in which the money would be sent. Later realising that the police had launched a manhunt for them, they kept roaming around in their car in Bhiwandi, Pise, Vaseregaon, and Padgha. The police learned about their location through the mobile tower. They finally dropped the abducted man in Padgha village.
While the police were analysing the location through the mobile tower, they learned that a mobile shop owner, Nikhil Labana, had issued a SIM card to an accused, Vinesh Advani. The team nabbed and interrogated Advani, and later arrested the rest based on technical intelligence.
Investigating officer Ashok Bhagat said the suspended firemen wanted to use the ransom amount to return to the job aspirants they had allegedly cheated. The police seized a country-made revolver, an airgun, a big knife, nylon rope, a black mask, five mobile phones, and one car worth Rs 12 lakh from the accused.
