Two Nagpur youths held hostage in Assam over mule account rescued; Rs 15 lakh ransom was sought

Nagpur: Two youths caught up in a mule bank account racket were held hostage in Assam and a ransom of Rs 15 lakh was demanded for them. Tahsil police acted in Assam's Chirang district and rescued both youths safely. One member of the racket, Nitin Dilip Wanjari, has been arrested. His associate, who goes by the name Rocky, is absconding.

According to police, Hasnain Bilal Asrar Ahmed, a resident of Mominpura, and his friend Roshan alias Zubair Rajesh Bundela went to Guwahati on October 11 in connection with work linked to a mule account. Hasnain had told his sister Ikra that he had brought the Bank of India account of Sumeet Raju Sahare, a resident of Bhandara. He was to receive Rs 20,000 for it.

A few days later, a dispute and threats over the bank account came to light. On October 14, Hasnain told Ikra that the SIM card registered to the account had been removed. The account holds about Rs 54 lakh, and because of this the money in it could not be withdrawn. For this reason, he and his companion had been taken hostage.

Rocky made a video call to Ikra and told her that the two were being held hostage. He also threatened to burn both of them alive. He demanded Rs 28 lakh for their release. When Ikra said she could not pay such a large sum, the accused demanded Rs 15 lakh.

During the investigation, Tahsil police arrested Nitin Dilip Wanjari, 28, a resident of Lashkaribagh, Nagpur. In questioning, Nitin said he knew Rocky. According to police, both accused were to use Hasnain's bank account as a mule account.

The location of a mobile number obtained from the arrested accused was traced to Assam's Chirang district. A Tahsil police team then reached the spot with the help of local police and recovered both hostages safely. Rocky fled during the police action.

Both youths have been brought back safely to Nagpur and handed over to their families. Tahsil police are continuing the investigation, and the search for the absconding accused is on.