Manish in middle – his two friends on both sides in a house in Hasson
After receiving 4-5 such calls at regular intervals, the phone went silent.
Deputy commissioner of police (West) Yatish N said Manish had conspired with two friends to stage the drama. The drama ended on a peaceful note when police found out that the man, desperate for money from his timber merchant-father, had scripted his own kidnap. Police couldn’t track Manish’s phone as it remained switched off. The mystery deepened when the family received a call from an unidentified number asking whether the ransom had been arranged. Police traced the phone’s location to Hassan. There was no sign of kidnapping. All three were arrested. Police are probing why Manish sought such a large sum and what he intended to do with the money. Manish assists his father in the timber business. The family lived in Hassan before shifting to Bengaluru. The two arrested men are his friends from Hassan.
A terrified Manohar approached RR Nagar police in Bengaluru and lodged a complaint on Wednesday evening. When they knocked on the door of a suspected house on Thursday morning, they found Manish sitting comfortably with two friends, Sunil and Nagaraj.