Shivamogga: The son-in-law of a businessman in the city was kidnapped by an armed gang on the evening of July 5.
The police sources said that Samiyulla, the son-in-law of businessman Heven Habib and his business partner Ansar were kidnapped by the notorious gang of Zameer alias Bachha.
On July 5, the criminals entered the marble shop run by the victims in the guise of customers at 6 PM. Pointing a gun, they instructed Samiyulla, who was working in the shop at the time, to comply with their instructions. Ansar who entered the shop later was also kidnapped. The abductors used the car of the victims to transport them to avoid suspicion, the police said. The kidnappers also called Heven Habib demanding Rs 5 Crore as a ransom for freeing the victims.
Heven Habib promptly alerted the police about the ransom call and sought help to free his son-in-law.
Acting on the complaint, the police alerted patrol vehicle to look out for the suspect car. However, the police were unsuccessful in tracing the car as the criminals kept on changing their position. At one point the police intercepted the culprit’s car but they managed to escape by damaging the police van, said Superintendent of Police Abhinav Khare.
It is gathered that Zameer had visited Heven Habib’s residence and created ruckus demanding payment in the middle of this incident.
On receiving a payment of Rs 2.5 Lakh from Habib, the gang finally released the victims near Laxmi Theatre at 9.30 PM, said sources close to the family.
After nearly 2.5 hours in captivity, both victims returned safely to their families. However, the gang made a quick getaway without being noticed by the police. The police knew neither the whereabouts of the kidnappers nor the motive behind the abduction, when reports last came in.
The police said that the main conspirator in the case, Zameer aliyas Bachha has several cases registered against him including those of theft, robbery and kidnapping at the Tunga Nagar Police Station. Sources said that the police are on a lookout for Zameer for the past one month.
