Four held for kidnapping interior designer, friend

NT Correspondent

In a swift operation, the city police arrested a four-member gang for kidnapping a 48-year-old interior designer and his friend. The accused had also made the victim send money online to their account.

After the interior designer, identified as Syed Nayaz Ahmed, was kidnapped, his employees rushed to his house to inform his wife. She filed a complaint at KG Halli police station. The police swung into action and nabbed four people and are on the lookout for one more accused who is still at large.

The interior designer is said to have intervened in a property dispute and one of the accused lost out on the property. This is said to be the main reason for the kidnap.

Ahmed, a resident of Richard Town, and his friend, identified as Naveed Khan, were kidnapped on February 16 at around 4 pm.

Ahmed was kidnapped while he was standing in front of his interior designer workshop at Kushalnagar in K.G. Halli.

Four armed miscreants came in a BMW car and abducted him.

After Ahmed’s wife filed a complaint, the police formed a team to nab the kidnappers. But around 11.45 pm, Ahmed himself came to the KG Halli police station and stated that he along with his friend had been freed by the kidnappers.

“Naveed Khan was forcibly kidnapped after he chased the BMW car to rescue Ahmed. The gang had blindfolded the victims and drove them via Ring Road, Horamavu, K Channasandra and other places. They travelled in the car for over an hour. Later the two were locked inside a house. They were again made to sit in the car and later stopped on a service road near Virgonagar. They forced Ahmed to make an online transfer of Rs 5,000 to one of their accounts,” said a police officer.

Later they freed the two victims and left. Based on the mobile phone tower locations, the police managed to arrest the gang. The arrested have been identified as Sheikh Jabiulla, 26, Shabaz alias Babban, 27, Riyaz, 32, and Syed Abdul Azeem, 31, all residents of KG Halli.

The police are on the lookout for the other absconding accused, identified as Aslam alias Kalakar Aslam, who wanted to buy a property. Ahmed is said to have intervened during the sale and the owner refused to sell the property to Aslam.