Three held for abducting man, extorting Rs 40,000 in northwest Delhi

New Delhi, Jan 6 (PTI) A man was allegedly abducted at knifepoint, confined, beaten and threatened with a pistol before being forced to transfer Rs 40,000 to his captors via UPI in northwest Delhi's Mukherjee Nagar area, an official said on Tuesday.

The accused, identified as Sachin alias Mohit (24), Ajay Sharma (22) and Deepak alias DC (22), all residents of Mukherjee Nagar, have been arrested, he said.

The incident occurred on January 2 when the complainant, Kuldeep, was returning to his jhuggi from Machhi Market. Police said he was first engaged in conversation by Ajay, after which Sachin arrived, threatened him with a knife and forced him to accompany them to a nearby jhuggi where Deepak was present.

"The victim was confined inside a room, beaten, tied up and gagged, with the accused demanding Rs 50,000. They forced him to call his company manager and arranged the transfer of Rs 40,000 in installments through a QR code," the officer said.

He was then threatened again and dropped at his room late at night with a warning not to inform anyone, he said.

The victim later managed to free himself with the help of his landlord and approached the police, following which a case was registered under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Arms Act, he added.

According to police, a country-made pistol with a live cartridge, a button-operated knife, and a mobile phone allegedly used for receiving online payments have been recovered from the accused.

Police have also recovered Rs 37,500 out of the Rs 40,000 allegedly extorted from the victim. This includes Rs 27,500 in cash and Rs 10,000 traced to a bank account, the officer said.

Sachin alias Mohit is a habitual offender and a listed bad character of Mukherjee Nagar police station, with involvement in 18 previous criminal cases, including murder, robbery, snatching, theft and offences under the Arms Act, police said.

The accused were arrested after CCTV footage analysis, local intelligence and raids at suspected hideouts. Further investigation in the case is underway, they added. PTI SSJ SSJ ARB ARB