Daijiworld Media Network - Jamshedpur
Jamshedpur, Jan 15: Forty-eight hours after the abduction of 24-year-old Kairav Gandhi, son of well-known Jamshedpur entrepreneur Devang Gandhi, Jharkhand Police are yet to make a major breakthrough in the high-profile kidnapping case.
The abductors have demanded a ransom of Rs 5 crore, contacting the family through a foreign mobile number. Preliminary investigation has revealed that the ransom calls and messages originated from Indonesia, adding a cross-border dimension to the case.
To ensure the safe recovery of the victim, Jharkhand Police have formed seven special teams that are conducting coordinated raids across Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal and Odisha.
According to police officials, Kairav Gandhi left his residence around 11.30 a.m. on Tuesday in his personal vehicle. He had informed his family that he would visit an SBI branch in Bistupur, head to his office in Adityapur thereafter, and return home for lunch. When he failed to return by 1.45 p.m. and his phone remained switched off, the family raised an alarm.
Devang Gandhi told investigators that while attending a meeting in Adityapur, he received multiple missed calls on WhatsApp from an unknown international number, which he could not attend. A subsequent message from the same number informed him of his son’s abduction and demanded ransom.
Later that evening, police recovered Kairav’s car abandoned near a resort along National Highway-33 in the Kanderbera area under Chandil police station limits in East Singhbhum district. The vehicle keys were found in the ignition, while his mobile phone was discovered lying on the ground nearby.
Investigators said the last known location of Kairav’s phone was traced to the Sonari Adarsh Nagar area of Jamshedpur, leading police to believe that the kidnappers intercepted his car and forcibly shifted him into another vehicle.
Police have also identified a suspicious vehicle that was repeatedly seen tailing Kairav’s car. Although it displayed a police insignia, its registration number was later found to belong to a different vehicle. A search operation has been launched to locate the vehicle.
The abandoned car has been sent for forensic analysis, while technical teams are examining call detail records and electronic data. Joint teams from Jamshedpur and Seraikela police are also scrutinising CCTV footage from toll plazas and key exit points of the city.
Meanwhile, police remain in close contact with the family, and the cyber cell is actively working to trace the origin and users of the Indonesian phone number used by the kidnappers.