By Sudeshna Sarkar, IANS,
Kathmandu : As Nepal police Thursday produced a gang of kidnappers in Kathmandu’s district court, investigations showed the Himalayan republic was fast becoming a dangerous destination for Indian businessmen with two New Delhi traders becoming the latest victims.
Chandni Chowk clothes merchants Joginder Paul, 52, and Salamat Ali, 35, were recovering from their worst nightmare ever in Kathmandu after being lured to Nepal with the bait of more lucrative business deals by a group that actually intended to kidnap the duo and collect Rs.25 lakh ransom for each from their families.
Police superintendent Kedar Rijal said the plot was hatched by Manjil Rai, a permanent resident of Dehradun in India’s Uttarakhand state who had migrated to Kathmandu. Rai had four accomplices: two Indians and two Nepalis.
All of them – Shiv Narayan Yadav from Jharkhand, Samuel Hembram from the same Indian state, and Nepali nationals Rakesh Shakya and Santosh Ghimire – were arrested Tuesday, police said.
Ghimire is a former soldier of the Nepal Army who deserted about seven years ago.
Rai hatched the plan to make friends with various traders in India, dangle the bait of cushy business deals before them, invite them to Nepal and then take them into captivity.
After identifying Paul and Ali as potential victims, he offered them a partnership in antiques, rudrakshas and precious Nepali stones and herbs. To win the confidence of the two Indians, he even sent them e-tickets on board Nepal’s national carrier Nepal Airlines.
When the two unsuspecting Indians landed at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu July 7, Rai received them and drove off with them in a red Santro car to Pokhara city.
The ordeal started after the two men found themselves taken to a forested area where Rai had already erected a kind of tent to keep them prisoners.
The other four were awaiting the arrival of the victims and trussed them up at knife and gunpoint. For two fearful nights, the two Indians were held in the forest, and threatened and assaulted by turn.
The kidnappers also began calling up Paul’s family, demanding a total ransom of Rs.50 lakh to free the two men.
Police said they were tipped off by a woman who had business dealings with the two Indians.
The apprehended gang members would be produced in court Thursday with police seeking 10 days custody to complete investigations, officials told IANS.
Last month, two more Indians had faced a similar situation, also in Pokhara.
Ashwini Kumar Agrawal, an Indian income tax officer, and Vishnu Prasad Tripathi, both from Haridwar, Uttarakhand, filed a police complaint saying they were lured to Nepal with the offer of getting land at throwaway prices but found themselves taken captive instead.
(Sudeshna Sarkar can be contacted at [email protected])