Thane: Street food seller abducted, held captive for failure to repay loan

After failing to pay back a debt he had obtained from one of the accused, a 33-year-old street food vendor was allegedly abducted by four persons and held captive at a house in Maharashtra's Thane district, according to police. 

The victim, who used to sell pani puri (a spicy snack) at a stall in Kalyan town, had taken a loan of Rs one lakh at five per cent interest from a person about one-and-a-half years back, an official from MFC police station in Kalyan said.

However, the lender later increased the interest to 10 per cent. The victim had made a payment of Rs 20,000 to him, but could not repay the remaining sum due to some problems, the official said.

On July 7, three persons arrived at the victim’s stall. They allegedly abducted him and took him on a motorbike to the money lender’s place, the police said.

The money lender and other persons allegedly beat up the victim. They also asked the victim to handover his flat in Badlapur to them and also repay the money, or else he would not be released, the official said.

The victim was allegedly held captive at the money lender’s house during the night and beaten up by the lender and three others. He released on July 8 morning, after which he approached the police and lodged a complaint, the official said.