Bangalore:
Guppa alias Guppendra, a notorious criminal with 18 pending cases against him, was tracked down and arrested along with an associate for abducting a realtor and collecting a ransom of Rs 10 lakh.
Central Crime Branch (CCB) sleuths used the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number of the victim's iPhone that was snatched by the duo and tracked them down with assistance from the mobile service provider.
Following their arrest, police recovered Rs 3.05 lakh from the amount paid as ransom. Police also recovered the victim's iPhone worth Rs 57,000 that the kidnappers snatched after they collected the ransom amount.
ACP S Y Haadimani said, "Guppa and Tyagraju approached Sanjay, a realtor from VV Puram offering to resolve a land dispute, which the former is facing. Later, the duo abducted Sanjay in his own car and demanded Rs 10 lakh from family members for his safe return. After collecting the ransom, Sanjay was released and he later filed a complaint with Central police station."
Tyagraju is also involved in the murder of BBMP Corporator Venkatachala, who represented Azad Nagar constituency in 1996.
A detailed interrogation revealed that Tyagraju, was running a real estate business and an illegal money lending business. He was planning to form a gang with the help of notorious rowdy, Cycle Ravi, who is presently behind bars. Shivakumar, a relative of Tyagraju, also lodged in Central jail for a double murder case, was mediating to form the gang which would kidnap several businessmen in the city to arrange finances for Ravi.