Daijiworld Media Network –Mangaluru (EP)
Mangaluru, Mar 20: A man on Bullet bike was waylaid, kidnapped and robbed by men who came in Alto car in front of Valencia cemetery on March 16. Police have arrested 5 persons relating to this case. The main accused was arrested on March 17 and the remaining 4 were arrested on March 19. Some business deal going wrong has been cited as the reason for kidnapping.
The-59-year old Keshava Acharya, resident of Gorigudde was on his way in his Bullet bike at about 1.30 pm on March 16. Meanwhile accused Vishwanath Kotian and his accomplices who arrived in Alto car waylaid his bike and forced him down from the bike. They forced him to sit in the car, kidnapped him and took him to a desolate place at Uchila. The kidnappers demanded Rs 2.5 lac ransom from him. As Keshava Acharya refused to pay the amount, the accused assaulted him with steel pipes and snatched his gold chain.
The kidnappers also threatened Keshava Acharya and made him pledge the gold chain at Thokkottu ‘Muthoot Fincorp’ and took away Rs 50,000. They further threatened that they would kidnap Acharya and his two children if the remaining Rs 2 lac was not given to their shop by evening on March 17.
A case in this regard was registered in Mangaluru south police station on March 16.
Mangaluru south station police inspector Belliappa K U who took up investigation arrested main accused Vishwanath Kotian (42), son of late Jaya K, residing at Kerebail Gudde, Permannur in the afternoon on March 17 near Thokkottu KEB. Police also recovered Rs 50,000 robbed from Keshava Acharya, gold chain weighing 27.600 grams pledged by accused at Muthoot Fincorp through Keshava Acharya, Alto car and steel pipe used for the assault and robbery. The value of seized items is about Rs 3, 80,000. The accused Vishwanath Kotian has been sent to judicial custody.
His four accomplices Abhishek, alias Abhi (26), son of late Ajith, residing in front of Mooda building, Urwa store, Mangaluru, Preetham, (19), son of late Harish, resident of Apimayi compound, Car Street, T T Road, Mangaluru, Abhishek, (20), son of Lokesh, residing at Ullal Bail house, Near Vaidyanath temple, Ullal grama, Mangaluru and Prathish Poojary, (20), son of Prabhakar, residing at Anugraha House, near Uliya temple, Someshwar, Ullal, Mangaluru were arrested near Mangaluru service bus stand on March 19 at 7.50 pm. The steel pipe used in the robbery has been recovered from them.
Among them, cases of attempted murder in Mangaluru south police station limits and an assault case in Ullal police station limits are registered against Prathish Poojary. There are cases pending against Preetham and Abhishek in Bunder police station.
Business deal
Police investigations revealed that accused Vishwanath Kotian deals with items related to steel fabrication. Keshava Acharya was buying items from him till 2014. As the items got rusted, he had returned them to accused Vishwanath Kotian and stopped dealing with him. Later Vishwanath Kotian was persuading Keshava Acharya to pay Rs 35,000. As Keshava Acharya refused, Vishwanath Kotian hired goondas to rob Keshava Acharya.
Inspector Belliappa K U, sub-inspector Ananth Murdeshwar, ASI Mohan, Dhananjay, staff Vishwanath, Gangadhar, Shekhar Gatti, Satya Narayana, Pradeep Kumar Rai, Chandrashekar, Siddharth J, Pravin Kumar Shetty, Purushotham, Radhakrishna, Basheer Ahmed, Bheemappa Uppar and Veeresh were part of the operation under the guidance from Mangaluru south sub division assistant commissioner Shruthi N S.