Lucknow: Acting swiftly on a kidnapping-for-ransom complaint, Lalganj police in Basti, with the assistance of Varanasi police, rescued two youths and detained three accused within hours on Friday. Victim boy’s father Manoj Kumar Upadhyay thanked CM Yogi Adityanath for quick action and safe recovery of his son.DGP Rajeev Krishna has announced a reward of Rs 50,000 for the police team.Basti police received a call about kidnapping around 1 am on April 10, and by 1 pm on April 10, they traced the accused and rescued the two kidnapped teens.Manoj Kumar Upadhyay, a resident of Lalganj, had lodged a written complaint stating that his 19-year-old son, Anay, with his friend had gone to Varanasi on April 8. On April 9, he received a call from his son’s mobile in which an unidentified person informed him that Anay had been kidnapped and demanded a ransom. The phone was switched off soon after. Anay was accompanied by his associate Divyanshu alias Rahul Upadhyay, 17.Lalganj police registered a case against unknown persons and launched probe. A police team rushed to Varanasi and, with local police support, tracked mobile locations and scanned CCTV footage to trace the victims.“Police found that the victims were allegedly lured to Varanasi through a social media contact identified as “Mishra,” who convinced them that accommodation would be arranged. Investigators suspect this person to be part of the conspiracy and efforts are underway to trace him,” said circle officer, city, Satyendra Bhushan Tiwari.Tiwari added that on reaching Varanasi, the youths were approached by one of the accused, Shariyat Ulla, who gained their trust by claiming familiarity and offering to arrange lodging.He took them to a restaurant near Goithaha crossing in Lalpur-Pandeypur, where they were held captive. The accused allegedly assaulted the victims and forced them to call their family members to arrange ransom. The demand, which initially varied, was later fixed at around Rs 1.66 lakh.CO Tiwari said the accused used a calculated method by making ransom calls from the victims’ phones and planning to route money through their bank accounts to avoid detection. However, technical surveillance and CCTV analysis helped police trace their location swiftly.Both youths were rescued safely from the restaurant, and three accused — Shariyat Ulla (30) from Jharkhand, Jaswant Singh (29) from Bihar’s Buxar, and Abhijeet Singh (30) from Bihar’s Kaimur — were taken into custody.BOX:Father expresses gratitude to CM YogiAnay’s family expressed gratitude to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, DGP, and the Basti police. Anay’s father Manoj Kumar Upadhyay said the police acted swiftly and took immediate action, successfully rescuing his son along with his friend. He said he is deeply grateful to Chief Minister and the Basti police for prompt action which saved his son’s life.
