Crime branch nabs four for abduction

The city crime branch on Tuesday arrested four people from Bhavnagar wanted for kidnapping and beating a man, diamond dealer Vinod Patel, and demanding diamonds worth Rs 14 lakhs from him. The officials also seized two swords, a dagger and the Maruti car used for kidnapping.

The arrested are Babu alias Ramji Patel a resident of Bhavnagar, Bala Ahir, Jodha Bharwad and Pola alias Hamir Ahir — all residents of Kardej village in Bhavnagar district.

The crime branch acted on a complaint registered by Jamna Patel, the mother of Vinod Patel, a former diamond dealer, after he was kidnapped, beaten and threatened with life.

Thirty-year-old Vinod Patel, originally a resident of Rampura in Dhandhuka taluka, dealt in diamonds at the diamond market in Mumbai between 1996 and 1999. Last year in January Raju Patel, another diamond dealer from Mumbai, gave Vinod Patel diamonds weighing 450 karat worth Rs 14 lakhs to sell. Patel sold the diamonds to Devu Chauhan of Mumbai, who later told him that he cannot pay the money due to financial constraints.

Following this incident, Vinod Patel fled Mumbai and came to Ahmedabad with his family where he took up a flat at Suryakrupa Society in Narayannagar.

He also got a job with Pavan Grinding, a private firm. However, on January 23 one Sangram Bharwad, a resident of Dhandhuka, and an acquaintance of Vinod Patel, went to meet him at his work place and told him to accompany him.

Bharwad led Patel to a white Maruti and once inside told him that he was in town to pick him up. Once they were near Vataman cross roads at about 8 pm, Patel was transferred to another Maruti, car number GJ-4-2223, where the occupant Bala Ahir, Vinod Patel and Bharwad talked about the same issue.

They later took Patel to Hama Bharwad, a resident of Nagalpur, where they threatened him with dire consequences if he did not return the diamonds or pay up in cash. Babu Patel and some unidentified persons also beat Patel severely.

Later, the abductors took Patel to Bhavnagar from where they called Patel’s mother Jamna Patel over the phone and threatened to kill her son if the diamonds were not delivered at Hari Om Nagar at Bhavnagar by 6 pm on February 20.

Following the threat his mother approached the crime branch for help and registered a complaint against the accused. Assistant commissioner of police (crime) Subhash Trivedi sent a team to Bhavnagar where the arrests were made and Vinod Patel was rescued. Offences have been registered against the accused and crime branch officials are investigating further.

Republished from Asian Age