Police said the kidnapping case was cracked in less than 48 hours. (Representational)
The Punjab Police on Friday rescued an engineering student who was honey-trapped and kidnapped for a ransom of Rs 50 lakh, officials said.
The kidnapping case of the youth from Kharar was cracked in less than 48 hours after the arrest of three people who had honey-trapped him, Deputy Inspector General of Police, Ropar Range, Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said.
Mohali's Senior Superintendent of Police Vivek Sheel Soni said the woman, Rakhi, had made fake social media profiles and after befriending the target on Instagram and Facebook, lured him into meeting her.
"Upon meeting, she along with her accomplices kidnapped the victim. They demanded ransom from his parents to release him," he said. Further investigations are on, he added.
The DIG said the victim, an engineering student in Chandigarh, was rescued by police teams.
He was held captive in a sedated condition at rented accommodation in Ranjit Nagar, Kharar. The kidnappers were demanding Rs 50 lakh as ransom from the parents of the youth.
Those arrested have been identified as Ajay Kadian (25) of Jattal village in Panipat; Ajay (22) of Aabood village in Sirsa and Rakhi from Sonipat district.
The police have also recovered a car, five mobile phones and one .32 bore pistol along with nine bullets from their possession, said Bhullar.
DIG Bhullar said the police had received a complaint from parents of the youth that their son had gone missing and kidnappers were demanding Rs 50 lakh as ransom from them.
A first information report (FIR) was registered at Sadar Kharar police station, near Chandigarh, and immediately different police teams were formed and an intelligence-led operation was initiated, he said.
He said the team led by DSP Gursher Singh along with police teams of Kurukshetra, Haryana were able to arrest the accused and rescue the student in he early hours of Friday.
Police in districts of Ambala, Haridwar and Ghaziabad were active in identifying and arresting the accused, an official statement quoted the DIG as saying.
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