Bhubaneswar: Commissionerate Police have cracked the case of a woman’s abduction from Chandaka Trident Galaxy apartment in Bhubaneswar.
According to reports, the woman, Smrutirekha Pani, staged her own abduction in connivance with her boyfriend, Pradeep Kumar Ola and his friend Devi Lal Ola, both hailing from Rajasthan, to extort Rs 1 crore from her brother.
The commissioner police exposed this fake kidnapping and arrested the main accused Smrutirekha along with her accomplices and forwarded them to the court.
Smrutirekha, a fashion designer by profession, was staying with her parents at Chandaka Trident Galaxy apartment after her divorce from her husband. Her brother, a stock market trader, who lives in Bengaluru, earns well. Smrutirekha befriended Pradeep Kumar Ola from Rajasthan on the social media platform, Instagram. Later both exchanged phone numbers and fell in love with each other.
During the conversation, Smrutirekha told Pradeep about his brother’s earnings. After knowing everything, Pradeep proposed to Smrutirekha and they decided to tie the knot. But, money was the main problem.
Then Smrutirekha hatched a conspiracy and plotted her kidnapping drama with the help of her boyfriend Pradeep and his friend Devi Lal, who had come to Bhubaneswar from Rajasthan in a Toyota car. Smrutirekha then boarded Pradeep’s car and eloped.
Before leaving Bhubaneswar, Pradeep called Smrutirekha’s brother from her mobile phone. He claimed to have abducted her sister and demanded Rs. 1 crore as ransom to release her unharmed. After hearing that his sister had been kidnapped, Smrutirekha’s brother transferred Rs. 12 lakhs to two bank accounts given by Pradeep.
In the meanwhile, Smrutirekha’s father, after coming to know about his daughter’s kidnapping, reached the police station and lodged a complaint.
Based on the complaint, the Commissionerate Police acted swiftly and a special team was formed to investigate the incident and track Smrutirekha’s mobile.
Tracing the movement of the suspects towards Boudh, the Commissionerate Police informed their \ counterparts in the district. On seeing, Boudh police at Charichhaka, the suspects diverted towards Nayagarha. By the time they reached Nayagarh, the police tried to intercept the car but they managed to sped away but, one of them, Devi Lal was caught at the scene.
After failing to go further, Smrutirekha and Pradeep abandoned the car on the roadside to evade being chased by the cops. However, the police team spotted them walking on the road and first took Smrutirekha into their custody. Pradeep again managed to give a slip to the police and ran away. But after a frantic search, the cops finally apprehended him.
During interrogation, the trio revealed their master plan to lead a luxurious life by extorting money and all were arrested.
Police Commissioner Sanjeeb Panda, said that the woman Smrutirekha and Pradeep had staged the fake kidnapping drama to extort money from her wealthy brother.
“Rs 12 lakh transferred to Pradeep’s account has been frozen and a car, 3 mobiles, laptop, cheque books and bank passbooks have been seized,” the Police Commissioner added.
