'Welcome' Actor Invited To UP Event, Then Tortured For 12 Hours

Film actor Mushtaq Khan, best known for his performances in Hum Hain Rahi Pyaar Ke and Welcome, was kidnapped, tortured for hours and forced to pay Rs 2 lakh before he managed to escape. Police have registered an FIR in connection with the incident, which took place on November 20 in Uttar Pradesh's Meerut. According to the complaint, Mr Khan received a call from one Rahul Saini at his Mumbai home on November 15. The caller invited him to an event in Meerut where some people will be felicitated. The actor often attended such events, so this was no cause for alarm.

Rahul Saini also promised to pay the actor's fees for attending the event. He immediately transferred Rs 25,000 through UPI and said he would pay the balance later. The caller also sent him an air ticket from Mumbai to Delhi. On November 20, Mr Khan landed in Delhi and got into a cab sent by Rahul Saini. Besides the driver, another man was in the car. The car stopped soon and the actor was asked to get into another vehicle. According to the complaint, the same man drove this car and two others sat with Mr Khan. The car stopped again and two more people got in.

By then, Mr Khan had smelled a rat and he protested. The men then put a sheet over him and asked him to keep his head down. About three-four hours later, they reached a house. There the kidnapper tortured and asked him to call his family and ask them to transfer money into an account. They took Mr Khan's phone and managed to transfer about Rs 2 lakh into their account.

The kidnappers then started drinking and when they passed out early in the morning, the actor somehow managed to escape. He rushed to a nearby mosque and the cleric there helped him contact his family. The complaint, filed by Mr Khan's manager, said the actor was very unwell and had deputed him to lodge the complaint. The complaint demands tough action against those involved.

Connection With Sunil Pal Kidnapping?

Mushtaq Khan's complaint about a kidnapping nightmare in Meerut comes at a time when the city's police are investigating the kidnapping of comedian Sunil Pal. Mr Pal had travelled to Uttarakhand for an event and was abducted on the way back. He was later released in Meerut.

"He (Pal) has claimed he was abducted when he had gone to Uttarakhand for a show. When he halted for snacks enroute, a man posing as a fan pushed him into a car. While they sought Rs 20 lakh, Pal said he was released after he managed to pay Rs 8 lakh which he collected from his friends," a Mumbai Police official said after the comedian filed a complaint.

"Pal claimed he was released by the side of a road in Meerut, from where he reached Delhi airport and took a flight to Mumbai. His wife had also lodged a missing person complaint. No arrest has been made. Further investigation is underway," the official said.

Meerut Police are now investigating if there is a connection between these two kidnappings.