Jeweller’s daughter abducted by ex-house help, rescued in 11 hrs

Mumbai: A Dahanu jeweller’s 11-year-old daughter, who was allegedly kidnapped for a ransom of Rs 5 crore when she was fast asleep on Wednesday, was rescued by the police within 11 hours. The main accused was their house help of over a decade.
Diya Nahar was abducted from her bedroom on the first floor of their Amrut bungalow in Masoli, Dahanu taluka, around 2am. The abduction came to light when her five-year-old brother woke up around 4am and began crying on not seeing her.Her mother looked around for her and then woke up her husband, Sachin. They informed the Dahanu police at 6am, and within half an hour, seven teams, including the crime branch, began investigations.
The bungalow did not have closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras or a security guard.
Shiva Bhagat, 30, who was sacked five years ago, entered the bungalow by breaking a bathroom window. He picked up Diya and drove away on the Nahars’ two-wheeler parked in the compound, said Palghar local crime branch inspector, Ashok Honmane. Bhagat took away Diya’s cellphone, which she used to set an alarm for school in the morning.
Sachin got a call from his daughter’s phone at 6.30am that she had been kidnapped and a ransom of Rs 5 crore was demanded. At 10am, when another call was made to him, the police traced the calls to Vangaon and Satpati in Palghar. The abductors later reduced the ransom amount from Rs 5 crore to Rs 2 crore.
The police nabbed the kidnappers around 1pm on Wednesday. Bhagat, a Bihar resident, his accomplices Laxman Bhagat, 35, and Krushnakumar Ram, 19, and a 16-year-old, all from Darbhanga district, have been arrested. Bhagat’s wife, Pinky Tandel, who also worked as a house help with the Nahars earlier, was also detained. Bhagat was in need of money and had planned the abduction about 10 days back, said Honmane.
The police said that Bhagat, who was sacked for dishonesty, did catering jobs after he left the Nahars.
Bhagat had taken Diya to a rented flat in Palghar. Sachin, who alerted the cops, was told to play along with the abductors. Even as Sachin spoke to the abductors, seeking time to arrange for the money, the police picked up one of them near Palghar railway station. His arrest led the cops to the flat where Diya was held captive.
They have been booked under Sections 364 (A) (kidnapping for ransom), 379 (theft) and 385 (extortion) of the Indian Penal Code. They will be produced in court on Thursday.