Five arrested for abducting bridal makeup artist

Five persons have been arrested for allegedly abducting a well-known bridal makeup artist here and demanding a ransom of Rs 2 crore from his family, police has said.

The accused have been identified as Wasim (32), Deepak (28), Vinod (31), Neeraj (23), Nasir (21) and they were arrested yesterday, said DCP(West) Vijay Kumar.

Abhishek Khetarpal, a makeup artist, was abducted on October 20 by Wasim and his accomplices, said the officer.

"Wasim was working as a tailor in the boutique of the victim's mother in Janak Puri. The boutique was closed in 2012 and Abhishek started a beauty parlour. Wasim was well aware of the sound financial position of the victim's family and that the victim is the only son," said the officer.
 

He was in need of money and hatched a plan to abduct the victim with his close friend Deepak who has a cloth shop in Uttam Nagar.

"Deepak made a call to Abhishek and arranged for a meeting in Dwarka regarding the bridal make-up of his handicapped sister. He called him near Radisson Blu Hotel in Dwarka and Abhishek was abducted with his car. To misguide police, the abductors left his car in the parking lot of IGI Airport," he said.

The abductors started making ransom calls to Abhishek's parents demanding Rs 2 crore.

A special team headed by ACP Vikaspuri Somender Pal Tyagi was formed to nab the accused and rescue the victim.

Wasim and Deepak had roped in their other friends in the plan. They kept the victim at Vinod's house in Hardoi, he said.

"On a specific tip off from a source, a raid was conducted in village Mahwa Dhanda, in Hardoi district (UP). The UP STF Team (Lucknow Zone) was also involved in the raid. After an elaborate operation, Abhishek was safely rescued from the house owned by accused Vinod in his native village and the other accused were arrested," said Kumar.

The victim had been administered sedatives in order to make him semi-conscious and his hands and legs were found tied.

"To misguide the police, abductors were making ransom calls from different places like Kanpur, Lucknow, whereas they kept the victim in a village of the District Hardoi. The accused had purchased SIM cards using fake IDs and new mobile phones," said the officer.