’I was gagged, beaten, wedged between seats’

Says rescued Greater Noida CEO's PA. He was kidnapped on Tuesday

'I was gagged, beaten, wedged between seats'

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'I was gagged, beaten, wedged between seats'

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Says rescued Greater Noida CEO's PA. He was kidnapped on Tuesday

Even after eight hours of being rescued, Shankar Dutt was a visibly shaken man. The horror of the 12-hour kidnap drama was etched on the face of the personal assistant to the Chief Executive Officer of the Greater Noida Authority. Dutt had been kidnapped on Tuesday evening while returning from office. His kidnappers were gunned down by the Noida Police early on Wednesday morning.

Teary tale

A shivering Dutt broke into tears as he narrated his tale. "Like any other day, I left my office around 5.30 pm on Tuesday evening. I was waiting for a bus to Delhi at the Pari Chowk in Greater Noida. Suddenly, three men in a car offered me a lift to Delhi. Initially, I was tempted but I refused. Suddenly, two of them pushed me inside the car. I was made to lie between the seats and they started beating me brutally. I fell unconscious. They were intoxicated and drove around for hours. Later, I sensed they stopped the car somewhere and asked for my ATM card's PIN number. When I refused they called my home for the number," said Dutt.

"Then I heard some firing. I did not know who was firing on whom but finally I was relieved to see the cops," Dutt said. His family had informed the police about his abduction.

Later, one of the abductors was identified as Shekhar Sharma, a resident of Dankaur town of Greater Noida. The other two were identified as Mohammad Waseem, a resident of Loni and Imran, a resident of Maujpur, Delhi.

The hunt

Senior Superintendent of Police, Gautam Budh Nagar, AK Singh said the accused had stolen the kidnap vehicle from Indirapuram on October 7. "They first tried to withdraw money from several ATMs but did not succeed as the victim refused to disclose his ATM card's PIN number. At around 9 pm, the kidnappers called up Dutt's residence at Moti Bagh on the landline phone from his mobile. They told his elder brother Shambu they were Dutt's friends and wanted his card's secret PIN. But Dutt managed a moan and his brother heard it. He became suspicious and refused to part with the number. The kidnappers called up again and demanded Rs 10 lakh as ransom. Dutt's mobile was switched off after every call," said Singh.

The cops said the first call was traced to Akshardham and the second to southwest Delhi. "However, with heavy police presence because of the Haryana elections and in anticipation of fixing a quick deal, the accused turned their car back towards Greater Noida. By now we knew the kidnap car was white. Accordingly, several checkposts at borders and inside the district were set up. The car, an Indica, reached the Kulsera Pusta checkpost around 4 am. It did not have a number plate. When the police asked it to halt, the assailants sped away. A police team chased the car and three police vehicles managed to corner it in the next five minutes at the Sector 88 T-point. Surrounded, the accused opened fire on the cops. The police team of 21 men retaliated by firing from Insas and AK 47s. The three assailants were wounded. We found the victim gagged and in shock," said Singh.

The accused were later shifted to the district hospital where the doctors declared them dead.