In one of the crucial daring police operations in Bengaluru, a quick-thinking inspector’s split-second determination to disguise himself as an autorickshaw driver led to the dramatic rescue of a kidnapped teenager and the seize of his abductors in 2001. The swift operation was not simply lauded by the general public but additionally by the legendary Kannada movie actor Dr Rajkumar.
The case considerations the kidnap of the son of a film financier’s son. However what adopted was a nail-biting operation the place a police inspector needed to don the function of an autorickshaw driver and have interaction in a gunfight to deliver the criminals to justice.
On 3 June, 2001, near 4 pm, then DCP (West) Nissar Ahmed requested lots of the police inspectors to return to the Upparpet police station instantly, recalled S Okay Umesh, then a police inspector.
When the police inspectors arrived, a middle-aged man, Gulabchand Pagariya, was within the DCP’s chamber. Unknown males had kidnaped his son Prashanth Pagariya, 15, demanding Rs 10 lakh ransom.
Gulab Pagariya was a well known financier on the time, offering loans to businessmen, film producers, and others. Coming from an prosperous household and dwelling in a palace-like mansion in Rajajinagar, Gulab Pagariya was additionally a well-connected man. He was additionally a household good friend to Dr Rajkumar and different outstanding politicians and celebrities.
In keeping with a police officer, Prashanth had simply accomplished Class 10 at Baldwin Faculty. Round 1 pm, his mom, Premalatha, acquired a name informing her that her son had been kidnapped. The abductors demanded a ransom of Rs 10 lakh for his launch and threatened to kill him if she contacted the police. They warned that any delay would outcome within the grotesque dismemberment of her son’s physique.
Premalatha was shocked and knowledgeable her husband, who determined to contact the police. A retired police officer concerned within the investigation remembered that Premalatha was strongly against police intervention as a result of she feared that her son could possibly be harmed.
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A workforce of police and technical specialists arrived at Pagariya’s residence and put in gadgets that would document calls and monitor the caller’s location. By then, the police had decided that one name originated from Okay M Doddi within the Mandya district.
By night, Premalatha acquired one other name on her landline. A police officer recalled that in this name, the caller threatened Premalatha, saying that he would ship her son’s proper hand to her as a result of she had knowledgeable the police. The caller instructed her to deliver Rs 10 lakh to the ISKCON temple in Rajajinagar and insisted that she come alone.
Umesh recalled that by then, Premalatha was livid with the police. “What she didn’t like concerning the police was that we have been shopping for time and her anxiousness grew each minute. She was crying and was additionally arguing with the police. I got here exterior of the home and was standing exterior,” he mentioned.
Within the subsequent jiffy, Umesh heard Premalatha shouting that she would go to the ISKCON temple in an autorickshaw and convey her son again. “I noticed an autorickshaw parked a number of meters away from her home and I instantly went to it. I didn’t converse a lot, however I took away his khaki uniform and took his autorickshaw. Happily, I got here close to the gate as Premalatha stepped out with the suitcase carrying Rs 10 lakh money,” he mentioned.
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Premalatha, who acquired into the autorickshaw, requested the driving force to take her close to the ISKCON temple. However on the best way, she additionally scolded the driving force, Umesh in disguise, for not driving correctly and even requested if he was drunk. “This was my first expertise as an autorickshaw driver. It was not straightforward to drive the three-wheeler. I used to be but to get it beneath management and acquired scolded by her,” recalled Umesh.
Gunshots close to temple
Upon reaching close to the temple, Premalatha requested Umesh to attend contained in the auto. “I used to be simply watching the general public motion on the highway, and the opposite police personnel who have been conscious of it had cordoned the realm, however weren’t seen. I noticed one autorickshaw going forwards and backwards on the identical highway twice, and it was a affirmation for me that the abductors have been within the car,” he added.
After a while, the autorickshaw wherein the abductors have been current stopped the car a number of meters away from the place Umesh had stopped. Umesh stepped out, after which one among them known as him, believing he was an autorickshaw driver.
“One in all them known as me and mentioned, ‘Hey Driver, inform that girl that the folks she is ready for have come’,” mentioned Umesh.
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Umesh mentioned he realised this was the second. “I took out my revolver and requested all of them to get down, together with the driving force. That autorickshaw driver knew nothing about this kidnapping episode. Then, the folks contained in the autorickshaw jumped out and tried to flee. I had no alternative however to open hearth at their legs. It was solely after the primary bullet sound that Premalatha and the police got here to know that the motion had begun.”
The police inquired concerning the whereabouts of Prashanth, and one of many suspects, who had been shot at, knowledgeable them that they have been in a Maruti van on a service highway, roughly one kilometre from the ISKCON temple. The police groups shortly responded to the placement, efficiently rescuing Prashanth and apprehending the opposite suspects.
A fast buck plan at health club
On June 4, 2001, the Bengaluru metropolis police introduced the arrest of Ramakrishna, 28, R Ramesh, 27, and Gopi, 23. Ramakrishna and Ramesh sustained gunshot wounds to their legs. Later, the police arrested one other suspect named Shiva, together with others allegedly concerned within the crime. Ramakrishna labored as a health club teacher, Ramesh was employed at a storage, whereas Gopi and Shiva have been staff at Anjali Clothes within the metropolis.
The investigations revealed that the thought to kidnap Prashanth originated within the health club. A police officer acknowledged, “At the moment, Bengaluru was grappling with a number of abduction instances. Many incidents didn’t even come to gentle as a result of the ransom calls for have been met. On this explicit case, Ramakrishna, a health club teacher at Royal Multi Gymnasium in Rajajinagar, determined to make a fast revenue. The health club was positioned near Prashanth’s residence, and Prashanth often visited the health club, the place he had fashioned a friendship with Ramakrishna.”
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After forming a workforce, Ramakrishna determined to kidnap Prashanth and likewise purchased a brand new SIM card. Nonetheless, as a result of their misfortune, the SIM card had not been activated. On June 3, 2001, when Prashanth was returning dwelling on a two-wheeler, Ramakrishna allegedly stopped him and requested a monetary favour from his father, stating it was an emergency. He requested Prashanth to affix him in his automotive to satisfy Gulabchand, mentioned the police. However Prashanth acquired to know that it was a meticulous plan to kidnap him solely after stepping into the van.
Umesh mentioned, “Within the van, Ramakrishna and others assaulted him and advised him that associates of his gang additionally kidnapped his sister and if he didn’t cooperate, she can be killed. They took him to Okay M Doddi close to the Mandya district and from there made him name dwelling from an STD sales space.”
“We got here to find out about this name location shortly because the STD sales space worker suspected that there was one thing fallacious. He dialled again the quantity (to Premalatha) and knowledgeable them that the decision originated from KM Doddi. So, a workforce was additionally dispatched. However later, all the pieces transpired in Bengaluru and on the footsteps of Lord Krishna,” Umesh mentioned.
The swift police operation turned a sensation within the metropolis. The truth is, Dr Rajkumar invited the law enforcement officials to his residence and distributed sweets. “He was thrilled to know the way the operation unfolded and requested me many questions. He turned extra curious after I advised him that I acted like an autorickshaw driver after which attacked them,” mentioned Umesh.
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The Upparpet police later filed a chargesheet towards the accused. In 2007, a Bengaluru courtroom convicted all of the accused and sentenced them for all times. Umesh mentioned that each one of them nonetheless proceed to be in jail.
“Their greed to make a fast buck by kidnapping despatched them to jail,” he added.