THANE: The anti-extortion cell has arrested six people, including a Mumbai constable Tukaram Mudgan (43), and rescued two directors of a finance firm from Rajasthan who were abducted for a ransom of Rs 1 crore. The abducted businessmen Devanand Vardani (28) and Rounak Saini (28), are from Udaipur. Police said the mastermind behind the crime, Lenin Kuttivatte (40), got acquainted with Vardani, who is in the business of giving loans against properties that are mortgaged.“Lenin hatched a conspiracy to abduct Vardani and his friend Saini, using the help of the other accused,” said deputy commissioner of police (crime) Deepak Devraj. Lenin sought the help of a man, Omprakash Jaiswal (23) from Kalyan, who posed as a builder and sought a Rs 10 crore loan from Vardani. The accused called the victims to Thane to show them property and abducted them.Lenin, Mudgan and Jaiswal were arrested on Saturday along with Rohit Shelar (20), Abhishek Jha (40) and Sagar Salve (37).When the two victims arrived at the Thane location on the evening of September 7, they were abducted and taken to the office of an estate agent. The accused brandished a sword and demanded a ransom, and warned that if it was not paid, they would be killed, said a police officer. The accused then called up the Udaipur office of the victims for the ransom. It was decided at that time that Rs 25 lakh would be paid, and a friend of the victims set out that day with the money, the officer added.Once in Kalyan, the accused put the friend in the car, and sent back the one in which he had come. But the driver of the car that went back, noted the registration number of the vehicle in which the friend was taken, and alerted a friend from Borivli. The information was passed on to the Thane police cell, who tracked down the car, the DCP said.Police spotted the car at APMC, arrested the abductors, rescued Vardani and seized Rs 25 lakh taken as ransom. Saini was traced to a house on Haji Malang Road where he was held captive, police said. Police also recovered Rs 70,000 which was withdrawn using the victim’s ATM card, besides gold jewellery.The accused have been booked under several IPC sections, as well as under the Arms Act and Mumbai Police Act. The offences have been registered against them at the Thane Nagar police station, Thane division.

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