Reliance officials kidnapped, rescued by police

Junagadh, Sep 27 (UNI) Four Mumbai-based officials of Reliance Industries were today kidnapped by a gang of seven people, near village Vadal on the Rajkot highway, and subsequently rescued by police from their clutches, near village Zalansar in the district.

Dinesh Bhadaraka, the mastermind of the drama runs an agency of Reliance STD/PCO and was not paid Rs 3.60 lakh which, he claimed, was his dues on the company. When Dinesh came to know that the officials were coming to Rajkot, he hatched a plan of abduction and kidnapping, police said.

The four officials--Parish Gandhha, Ruchir Vyas, Manish Kumar and Ravi Shantanu--were coming to Junagadh from Jamnagar via Rajkot at 0315 hrs in their Innova car. Around 0400 hrs, on the Rajkot highway, a gang of seven men in a Indica car overtook them and intercepted their vehicle near village Vadal.

Thereafter, Dinesh Bhadaraka and six of his accomplices threatened the reliance officials and transferred them to their car, police said.

Following the kidnap, heated arguments started between Gandhha and Vyas, but they were silenced by Dinesh and his men who beat the two with pipes. Both were injured and Gandhha suffered fracture in his arms. Later, the four officials were taken to a small village Makhiyala from where the six-members of the gang disappeared.

Dinesh then brought the four officials to his native village Intala, where he detained them in his house in the presence of his father Parbat Bhadaraka.

While they were taken to Intala, one of the Reliance officials managed to send an SMS to Mukul Bhuj, a former deputy superintendent of Police and now working at Reliance's Jamnagar facility, about their predicament, police said.

Mr Bhuj immediately alerted SP Shailesh Katara, who then despatched a police team, led by Police Inspector Subhash Rawal of LCB, to the spot and rescued the four officials and arrested the father and son duo.

Then, police took the bleeding Mr Gandhha and Mr Vyas to a hospital in Junagadh and lodged a complaint against the gang members.

Dinesh has been booked under the IPC sections relating to kidnapping and assault, while his father Parbat has been booked for illegal confinement of the officials.

Dinesh was angry with Mr Gandhha and Mr Vyas for stalling his payment, police added.

UNI