Gurgaon, Nov 16 (IANS): Four men, including an MBA, involved in several incidents of looting, have been arrested here just before they executed a plan to kidnap a toddler for Rs.50 lakh ransom, police said Saturday.
The Sector 17 crime branch unit of Haryana Police arrested Vijay Kumar, Jagmohan (both 26), Kapil, 24, and Himanshu, 21, Nov 14.
Vijay, the gang leader and an MBA from Pune, hails from Jaitpur village in Rewari. Jagmohan lives in Dariyapur area of Delhi while Himanshu belongs to Tigaon village in Faridabad. Kapil is a resident of Bhondsi village of Gurgaon.
"All arrested have criminal records. Vijay did his MBA after a diploma in business management in 2010 while the other three accused are school dropouts," said Joint Commissioner of Police (crime) Vivek Sharma.
The accused had earlier looted the car and valuables of Rajesh Kumar, a resident of Delhi's Dwarka and sub-divisional officer in the capital's electricity department.
Kumar was taken hostage in his car at gunpoint from Sector 31 here Oct 15 and was later dropped off in Faridabad after a few hours.
The accused were arrested Nov 14 by the crime branch unit-2 team led by Rajender Singh. They were preparing to kidnap the five-year-old son of a Gurgaon trader Nov 15, Sharma said.
"After kidnapping the only son of the cloth merchant, they were going to demand Rs.50 lakh for the victim's safe release. They had also planned to take the kidnapped boy to Mumbai," Sharma added.
Vijay's younger brother was employed at the trader's house in Sector 4 but Vijay did not disclose his plan to his brother. He (Vijay) was sure that his brother would apprise him of all the developments after the kidnapping.
Rajinder Singh, chief of the crime branch unit, told IANS: "Himanshu had suggested that the gang kidnap a 26-year-old son of a jeweller from Tigaon but the gang thought kidnapping the five-year-old boy would be easier."
Vijay could not get a job after his MBA and embarked on a life of crime. He was arrested and jailed in 2010 for robbery.
After his release from jail in 2011, he shifted to Mahindergarh district and took a contract for putting electric cables. He opened an electrical shop but again became involved in criminal activities.
At present, Vijay was working as a cab driver for a call centre in Gurgaon.
The accused were Saturday produced before a court and were later handed over to police for interrogation.