Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], August 24 (ANI): Five people were arrested for allegedly kidnapping and assaulting two dry fruit traders over a financial dispute involving around Rs 8 lakh and demanding Rs 2 lakh and their vehicles for their release, police said.
B Sravan Kumar, Inspector of Police, Goshamahal Police Station, Hyderabad, said the accused were arrested on Saturday and produced before the court. Six other accused are absconding.
According to police, the victims, identified as Mohd Akbar and his brother Mohd Aleem, had been procuring dry fruits from Vinod Impex in Begum Bazar for around two years. They allegedly committed financial irregularities involving about Rs 8 lakh by forging the firm's stamp during the last three months.
Police said that on August 20, Karan Kumar, owner of Vinod Impex, and his associates allegedly confined the brothers inside a godown and assaulted them with their hands and steel pipes. The accused also allegedly tied their hands and threatened to circulate their videos on social media.
The victims' parents were also allegedly called to the godown, confined and abused, police said.
The accused allegedly demanded Rs 2 lakh and asked the victims to surrender one car and one auto for their release. The victims and their parents were allegedly confined until the early hours of August 21.
The victims later informed police about the assault at Goshamahal Police Station and were sent to Osmania General Hospital for medical examination.
Police arrested five accused based on credible information and seized two cars, one auto and two mobile phones. The six other accused, identified as Shubham Parihar, Tharun, Manish, Praveen, Pankaj and Datta, remain absconding, police said.
Meanwhile, in a separate incident on Sunday, a 60-year-old housekeeping staff member was murdered allegedly for a pair of gold earrings in Telangana's Hyderabad suburb Meerpet, and her body was later found dumped in a water sump, police said.
The victim was identified as Chintoju Prakruthamma, alias Kalamma, who worked as a housekeeping worker at Panchajanya School in Badangpet. When she failed to return home on the evening of August 18, her daughter, Naroji Gayathri, lodged a missing person's complaint at the Meerpet Police Station. Based on the daughter's complaint, an investigation was launched into the matter.
During the probe, police examined CCTV footage in and around the school premises and conducted search operations. On the afternoon of August 21, officers discovered a suspicious bundle inside a water sump at an under-construction building adjacent to the school. Upon opening it, police recovered the woman's body, which was subsequently identified by her family members as Prakruthamma.
Under the supervision of Shamshabad DCP Rajesh and Adibatla ACP Pradeep, the Meerpet police team intensified the investigation and, based on CCTV evidence, the police apprehended the accused near Panchajanya School on August 22.
During interrogation, the accused confessed to killing the woman for her gold earrings and handed over the stolen property to the police. Further investigation revealed that the accused was under severe financial distress due to shop rent dues and personal debts. Noticing that the victim, who worked on the floor above his shop, was wearing gold earrings, he targeted her to clear his liabilities, police added. (ANI)
Telangana: Five held for allegedly kidnapping, assaulting dry fruit traders over Rs 8 lakh dispute
