Kidnapped businessman found killed, two held

Navin Shah, associated with Navneet Publications, was today found killed and his body dumped in Malpur village of Aravalli district of the state, three days after he was allegedly kidnapped from here, the police said.

The incident came to light after the police arrested two persons in connection with the kidnapping of the businessman from Vaishnodevi circle on the outskirts of the city.

Police suspect Shah (around 60 years old) was kidnapped by at least six persons with a motive to extract a hefty ransom.

However, it seems the plan hatched by the accused went awry.

Based on the technical analysis of Shah's last mobile tower location, a team of crime branch arrested Ramesh Patel, a resident of Prantij in Sabarkantha district, and his accomplice Jignesh Bhavsar who hails from Ahmedabad, the Crime Branch said in a release.
 

The conspiracy to kidnap Shah was allegedly hatched by Ramesh Patel, his friend Shailesh Patel, also a resident of Prantij, and Bhavsar.

"Since Bhavsar had earlier worked as a contractor with Navneet Publications, he knew several details about Shah," the release said.

Using a sim card issued in the name of some other person, Shailesh called up Shah on July 25 and lured him to come to Vaishnodevi Circle under the guise of disclosing some crucial information about the employees union in Navneet.

Shailesh also offered to provide a solution to the ongoing dispute between the management and the union, as per the release.

When Shah reached the spot, Shailesh, Ramesh Patel, Bhavsar and three others bundled him into their car and headed towards Prantij. However, as Shah resisted, the accused started beating him, resulting into his death.

The abductors then dumped his body near a road passing from Malpur village, the release said.

As the missing person complaint was registered at Adalaj police station in Gandhinagar district, crime branch has handed over Ramesh Patel and Bhavsar to the Adalaj Police for further probe.