From Our Correspondent
JOWAI: Jowai police on Saturday night arrested two kidnappers and seized Rs 20 lakh ransom money from their possession.
The arrested persons were identified as Talbinus Dhar (20) and Janaiki Suiam (21), both hailing from Mulieh village in West Jaintia Hills District. They have been remanded in five-day police custody after being produced in a local court on Sunday.
The duo had on Thursday evening kidnapped Sniawdamehi Dkhar (18) of Raliang village, a Class XII student of St. Dominic Higher Secondary School, Mookyndeng in West Jaintia Hills District.
The arrests were made after relatives of the kidnapped victim paid ransom money worth Rs 20 lakh to the kidnappers at Lad-Moosakhi on the Jowai-Amlarem-Dawki road and then informed police who immediately swung into action and nabbed the duo.
The victim’s father, A Tyngkan, informed that he came to know that their son have been kidnapped only on Friday morning when the kidnappers called him from his son’s mobile phone and demanded Rs 30 lakh for his safe release.
“They (kidnappers) threatened to kill my son if we failed to pay them Rs 30 lakh or even if we tried to inform the police,” Tyngkan said, adding that on Saturday the kidnappers called again to inform that they wanted Rs 20 lakh as ransom.
“The kidnappers told us to bring the money and come to the Jowai-Amlarem-Dawki road but did not give us the exact location,” Tyngkan said.
Some relatives of the kidnapped youth carried the cash on Sunday and reached the said road when they were asked to stop at Lad-Moosakhi where the kidnappers collected the cash and released the youth.
Immediately after the exchange the relatives informed the police. A police team led by Deputy Superintendent of Police, P Syiem, intercepted the kidnappers’ vehicle at Tre-iongriang area near Jowai. On checking the vehicle, police recovered the ransom money.
According to Police, the kidnappers had used only a knife. “They were planning to buy guns with the money they got as ransom in order to continue with their criminal activities in an organized manner,” police said later.
It was reported that the victim sustained minor injuries in his hands while he was trying to escape from the abductor’s clutches.