Odisha woman with Rajasthan boyfriend fakes her own kidnapping for Rs 1 Cr ransom
Bhubaneswar: In a weird incident, a woman hailing from the Chandaka area in Odisha capital Bhubaneswar, allegedly faked her own kidnapping in a bid to extort money from her own brother.
According to the police, Smruti Rekha Pani, a woman deserted by her husband, schemed her kidnapping with her lover.
The woman along with her boyfriend and his associate reportedly staged the abduction to extort Rs 1 crore from her brother.
The incident came to light on Friday when the brother of the woman received a frantic call about Smruti Rekha being kidnapped and held for ransom. Soon the police launched an extensive search and rescued the woman from Nayagarh and arrested two persons in connection with the matter. After the arrest the accused confessed to their crimes. The arrested duo was identified as Pradeep Ola and Debilal of Rajasthan.
According to the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Commissionerate Police, Smruti Rekha befriended Pradeep on Instagram. Soon the duo developed a romantic relationship. Subsequently, Pradeep and Smruti hatched a kidnapping plan to extort money from her brother and to elope.
“The kidnappers had threatened Smruti Rekha’s brother from her phone and demanded Rs 1 crore. Multiple teams and special squads were formed. Through technical and physical evidence, an effort was made to catch the perpetrators.
The accused men brought a car from Rajasthan in which they had devised the whole plan. The car, three mobile phones, internet dongle, an ATM card, a cheque book, and a laptop have been seized,” said Sanjeeb Panda, Police Commissioner.