Jeypore: Koraput police have arrested 13 people, including three women, for their alleged involvement in abduction of a rice mill owner, A Ramesh Patra, last week.
They have been identified as Jeet Mahuria (28), Tutu Khosla (25), Rahit Suna (22), Firz Nag (24), Minakshi Mohura (28), Prabina Mohuria (45), Tarunum Begum (22), Rasha Bag (19), Prasado Khila (22), Damu Nayak (21) of Jeypore town, Raghunath Harijan (32) of Kotpad, Junesh Padasethy (26) Pottangi and Sontosh Benia of Sunabeda.
Harijan, who worked in the mill, had alleged passed on information about Patra to the kidnappers.
Briefing the media at Borrigumma, Koraput SP Abhinav Sonkar said that eight among them are hardcore criminals and nabbed earlier for kidnapping. Two more persons involved in the crime are still at large.
The SP identified Jeet Mahuria as the mastermind. “Though the family had informed us about the incident, later fearing dire consequences they snapped contacts with us. This led to a communication gap. We later got to know that the family had handed over Rs 25 lakh to the kidnapper unaware that the mill owner had already been rescued,” he said.
Police have recovered Rs 2,48,500 of the ransom money which the victim family had paid in first instalment to one of the kidnappers in Kumuliput. This apart, two pistols, live ammunition, daggers, mobile phones, three cars, one motorcycle, a mobile phone belonging to the victim and at least 13 mobile phones have been seized from them.
“We arrested the 13 accused under section of 140 (2) 3 (5) of BNS,” the SP said while appealing the business community not to panic.
Patra owns a rice mill in Perahandi and he was kidnapped near Perahandi Chowk within Borigumma police limits while he was returning home on July 12. The kidnappers then demanded a ransom of Rs 70 lakh to release Patra. He was rescued by police from Semiliguda in a midnight operation on July 14.