Five accused have been arrested and two are absconding from the gang used to conspire with hostages' kin and acquaintances.
The police added that the gang has been allegedly involved in 23 such cases in the two Telugu states — Telangana and Andhra Pradesh — dating back to 2011. (Commons)
In a significant breakthrough, the Cyberabad police on Sunday, 7 January, said it had busted a kidnap-for-ransom operation and arrested five accused of a gang, including the cousin of one of the victims.
The police added that the gang had been involved in 23 such cases in the two Telugu states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, with the first of them dating back to 2011.
The gang used to conspire with the kin and acquaintances of the hostages and, in turn, demand huge amounts from them.
In a recent case, the victim Gurram Surendar was the cousin of one of the accused, Gurram Nikitha.
Nikhita’s boyfriend Ballipara Venkata Krishna and prime-accused Gunjapogu Suresh, who was facing financial crunch, hatched the kidnap plan, said the police.
Venkata Krishna met Suresh and his gang while lodged in jail for a previous crime, added the cops.
Nikhita and Venkata Krishna (both hailing from Andhra Pradesh) fell in love while working as colleagues in a Gachibowli-based company, said the police.
As they also had marriage plans and dreamt of a luxurious life afterwards, they hatched a kidnap plan with Suresh in the loop.
The police said the gang targeted Surendar because he was financially well-settled through hardware jobs.
In December 2023, Suresh and Venkata Krishna conducted a reconnaissance of Surendar’s house and office but were unable to find a breakthrough. They then approached Surendar’s sister Nikhita to lure the victim into coming to a nearby place.
On 4 January, Nikhita called Surendar to meet her at the Khajaguda Lake road in Rangareddy on the pretext of discussing a personal matter. Once Surendar arrived, he was forced into the car by the accused, including Nikhita.
Nikhita lodged a kidnap complaint with the police and “managed” the police as well as the family members of the victim while maintaining an innocent demeanour.
Meanwhile, the gang, led by Suresh, demanded a staggering ₹2 crore as ransom from Surendar’s wife. However, they got to know that the police were tracking their whereabouts, and reduced the amount to ₹20 lakh during the negotiation.
While the gang was on its way to pick up the ransom, their vehicle developed a mechanical fault near Kadthal village in the Ranga Reddy district of Telangana.
Suresh asked Venkatakrishna to arrange a car, who went to Surendar’s residence, took his car, and handed it over to Suresh.
However, the accused abandoned both the victim and the vehicle at the Atmakur forest checkpost when confronted by the police.
Meanwhile, a case has been registered at the Raidurgam police station under IPC Sections 120(B) (party to criminal conspiracy), 365 (kidnapping), 364A (kidnapping for ransom), and 384 (extortion) read with Section 34 of the IPC.
Apart from Suresh, Nikhita and Venkata Krishna, the cops have arrested Ramagalla Raju and Shinde Rohith — both Hyderabad residents
The cops are searching for Chandu and Venkat, both residents of Telangana, who are on the run.
The cops said the seven accused who have been arrested had been on the police radar for their involvement in multiple thefts, robberies, and kidnap-for-ransom cases.
As per the police, Suresh committed his first crime at the age of 16 and has been involved in several theft, robbery, and kidnap-for-ransom cases since then. He is the brother of the notorious criminal Gunjapogu Sudhakar.
About Venkata Krishna, the police said he had been previously booked in immoral trafficking (PITA Act) and narcotics (NDPS Act) cases under the jurisdiction of the Cyberabad and Hyderabad Commissionerates.
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