Hyderabad : A group that lost ₹5 lakh after allegedly being duped by a fake currency gang reportedly resorted to kidnapping in an attempt to recover the money. The group had paid ₹5 lakh, hoping to receive fake currency worth ₹20 lakh, but the gang allegedly fled after another group posed as police officers. Three men were later held captive, and one of them was allegedly forced to tell his wife that he had been kidnapped and would be released only after she paid ₹5 lakh.
They allegedly forced Surender to call his wife and tell her that he had been kidnapped and that ₹5 lakh had to be paid for his release.
The two groups then fled towards Nagpur in separate cars without handing over the currency, police said. Special teams have been formed to trace them, while police are also probing the role of others involved in the fake currency operation, the DSP said. Three were arrested in the kidnapping case and three others in the fake currency case. At the same time, another group arrived posing as police personnel and threatened the buyers. Surender’s wife approached the Maval police, who registered a kidnapping case. Police also registered a separate case over the fake currency transaction. Shakeeb, Sitar and Pratham were arrested in the kidnapping case, while Deepak, Alok and Surender were arrested in the fake currency case. Prateek of Pandharkawada and four members of the Nagpur-based fake currency gang are absconding.
Adilabad police arrested six persons in connection with the fake currency and kidnapping cases, DSP L Jeevan Reddy said on Monday.
The occupants were taken into custody, and questioning revealed links between the two cases, police said. As part of the investigation, police conducted vehicle checks and intercepted a car at a petrol bunk in Dasnapur on Sunday.