Telangana: Inspired from web series, man recruits gang members to kidnap people

Hyderabad: A 27-year-old man, who got inspired by a web series of a streaming service and recruited few persons - including women - for allegedly kidnapping people for ransom, was arrested here along with three of his gang members, police said on Tuesday.

Acting on a complaint from a woman on February 6 that her younger son was abducted and money was demanded for releasing him, the city police registered a case and took up investigation and during course of the probe, police arrested four people, including the prime accused.

Explaining on the modus operandi of the prime accused, who is a driver, police said he got inspired from a web series of a streaming platform, wherein the main character, i.e, Professor, used to recruit persons to commit several crimes.

"Similarly, he hatched a plan and recruited few persons including women for kidnapping people to earn easy money by threatening their family members," Hyderabad Police Commissioner CV Anand said in a release.

As per his plan, the prime accused, who he is an expert in car driving, targeted people in his friends circle after inducing them with help of hired women by sending voice messages, text messages via social messaging apps to gain their faith, police said.

The victims were told to meet at convenient places and once the victim reached the spot, the prime accused along with his hired gang members would kidnap the victim in his car, police said.

To avoid police tracking them after kidnapping, he used to call the family members of the victim from (victim's) mobile through social messaging apps and demand money and after collecting money he put the victims in fear of death and leave them, police said adding, he along with his gang members were allegedly involved in six such kidnappings.