''Do Not Raise False Alarm'': How Noida Cops Rescued Kidnapped Scientist

Tracking the location of kidnappers through mobile phone number was a job only half done for the Gautam Buddh Nagar police, which safely rescued a scientist held hostage in a hotel room in Noida in an operation that lasted less than five hours.

The other half involved a well-coordinated operation involving a sophisticated surveillance team, a crime branch team and the local police - an ensemble of around two dozen policemen who rescued the 45-year-old scientist of a top Delhi-based government agency on Sunday evening.

The Home Department of the Uttar Pradesh government on Monday announced a reward of Rs five lakh for the district police for accomplishing the task.

"Around two dozen police personnel, including senior officers, were on their toes during the rescue operation directly monitored by Police Commissioner Alok Singh," a senior officer said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police, Noida, Rajesh S led the surveillance team that tracked the location of the hostage, while additional DCP Ranvijay Singh commanded the Crime Branch team and ACP Vimal Singh was entrusted the Sector 49 police team.

"Rescuing a hostage is challenging because no policeman would want to put the victim in harm. Our top priority was rescuing the hostage safely," the official, privy to the operation, told PTI requesting anonymity.

Policemen in civil dress were deployed near the OYO Hotel in whose room number 302 the scientist was held by the kidnappers and assaulted.

Before zeroing in on the hotel and entering it, the personnel in civil dress closely surveyed the area and were in a two-to-three-km radius of the hotel for a couple of hours.

At the same time, police teams mounted surveillance at all borders of Gautam Buddh Nagar district - towards Delhi, Ghaziabad, Haryana, Yamuna Expressway, among others.

All personnel engaged in the operation had clear instructions: "Do not trigger any false alarm".

"Any false alarm gives the kidnapper a chance to escape. It could also lead to a situation of collateral damage, putting in harm the kidnapped person. The priority was his safe release," the official said.

"While personnel around the hotel were keeping a low profile, those at the border were keeping a vigilant eye on vehicles without stopping them. They were told only to hold any vehicle if the suspicion level is very high," the official added.

The scientist's wife had approached the local Sector 49 police station around 4 pm on Sunday and an FIR was lodged under IPC 364A (kidnapping), almost 24 hours after her husband had gone "missing".

"She had got a Rs 10 lakh ransom call late Saturday night and tried to collect the money but when unable to do that, she approached the police with a complaint the next day," according to a police statement.

However, the official said, "The entire operation took less than five hours and the victim was rescued safely. However, some post-rescue meetings of the police continued till 11.30 pm on Sunday."

Three people, including a woman, have been arrested for the kidnapping, while two more of their partners are missing and searches are underway to nab them, the police said.