Doctor Rajesh Mehta of Gujarat’s Patan Medical College is rescued five days after abduction

About a year back, Dr Mehta was transferred from Valsad to Patan. Kalpesh helped Dr Mehta find a rented accommodation in Patan.
His accomplice, Hitendra Kantilal Patel, has done a nursing course.

The five-day ordeal of Dr Mehta, Head of the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine at Patan Medical College, ended at Vijapurda village in Becharaji taluka as police rescued him from his captors who allegedly wanted Rs 2 crore from his family as ransom.

Dr Mehta, 56, was abducted on August 19 when he was on his way to deliver a lecture at Deesa town in the neighbouring Banaskantha district. Two persons had stopped Mehta’s car near Aseda village, dragged him out and taken him away in their car.

“We had no clue about the abductors, but based on the description of the car used in the abduction, we succeeded in tracing it,” an officer said.

According to Bhuj Range IG, A K Jadeja, who was part of the operation, “Hitendra, the accused, had incurred loss of about Rs 1 crore in gambling. He wanted money and in collusion with Kalpesh, they decided to kidnap for ransom.”