Gang of 21 kidnaps 3 men from city, kills one of them in Gauribidanur

A gang of 21 was arrested in Gauribidanur, Chikkaballapur district, on Tuesday for kidnapping three men from North Bengaluru’s JC Nagar and brutally killing one of them, police said. 

The gang had kidnapped Noor Ahmad, 28, and his two friends — Saddam alias Mubasshir and Saleem Khan, of Chamarajpet — on Monday evening. Noor had lent Rs 5 lakh to Junaid Ahmad, a sheep merchant from Shivajinagar, just before Bakrid which fell on September 2. But Junaid failed to repay the loan for long. When Noor asked him to pay up, Junaid refused point-blank. Noor got angry and took away Junaid’s car and humiliated him before his family.

Junaid vowed revenge. On Monday evening, he called Noor to JC Nagar, saying he wanted to repay the loan. An unsuspecting Noor went there along with his friends, Saddam and Saleem. Junaid was waiting for him along with 20 of his associates in three Mahindra Scorpio SUVs.

Gang locked trio

The gang abducted Noor and his friends, and drove off to a farmhouse near Sigatehalli close to Gauribidanur, about 80 km from Bengaluru. The farmhouse is owned by Junaid’s friend, Ashraf. The gang locked up the trio and tortured them the whole night.

Meanwhile, when Noor did not return home for long and his phone was switched off, his family got worried and filed a missing person complaint at the RT Nagar police station. Police traced his phone number to Gauribidanur and its surroundings. The Gauribidanur police joined the investigation. 

At Gauribidanur, police sub-inspector Avinash and three of his men noticed an SUV moving suspiciously on the outskirts of the town on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday. Police stopped the vehicle and questioned the men who apparently gave inconsistent answers.

Cops raid farmhouse

Police soon learnt that the men had come out to get food for others. They raided the farmhouse where they found Noor lying in a pool of blood and two others grievously injured.

The sub-inspector called for reinforcements and rushed the trio to hospital. Noor succumbed to his injuries at the hospital. The RT Nagar police were informed. In the morning, police arrested all the 21 men from the farmhouse after seizing the SUVs and weapons. Saddam and Saleem are being treated at the Victoria Hospital.

Police identified some of the other suspects as Faizan, Ahmad, Pasha, Faisal, Sultan, Mohsin, Zaheer, Mohan, Apsa, Bilal, Zain, Umar, Jawar, Arshad, Sonu, Saif and Suhail Khan. They are all aged between 25 and 35 and some of them are habitual offenders, police said.