A woman police sub-inspector and a journalist were among four people arrested for their alleged involvement in the kidnapping of a 62-year-old businessman from Odisha’s Bolangir district. Hotelier Narendra Sahu was allegedly abducted at gunpoint on August 14 and brought to Bhubaneswar, where he was tied up, assaulted, and confined in a hotel in the Khandagiri police station area.
Police rescued him on August 15 after his family lodged a missing-person complaint when he failed to return home, and his mobile phone was found switched off. During the investigation, police examined CCTV footage and found that Sahu’s vehicle was heading towards Bhubaneswar. The accused allegedly assaulted him and forced him to pose with a pistol as if he had kidnapped one of the accused, Kshitish Chandra Sahu.
The act was recorded on video and allegedly used to blackmail Narendra Sahu and demand a ransom of Rs 50 lakh. Kshitish’s sister, Snehamanjari Sahu, a police sub-inspector posted at Khandagiri police station, was also allegedly involved in the crime. Bhubaneswar-based journalist Sanjay Jena, who is allegedly close to Snehamanjari, impersonated a police officer and escorted Narendra Sahu to Khandagiri police station on August 15.
The alleged kidnapping plot came to light when a special squad reached the police station as Narendra Sahu was being brought there to lodge a complaint. Bolangir SP Abhilash G said the kidnapping was planned to extort Rs 50 lakh from the businessman. The accused SI threatened the victim to register a fake criminal case against him if he fails to pay Rs 50 lakh within 24 hours.
The alleged kidnapping was linked to a rare antique ‘Hanuman Paisa’, which is believed by some to possess extraordinary wealth-generating or supernatural properties. Kshitish told police that he had paid around Rs 2.7 crore to Narendra in 2020 for the antique coin but claimed that neither the coin was delivered nor his money returned. Narendra has denied the allegation, officials said, adding that the police were investigating this aspect of the case as well.
