In a bizarre case from Nalasopara, a 22-year-old youth, along with two of his friends, hatched a plot to fake his own kidnapping in order to extort money from his family. However, their plan was foiled within hours as the police arrested all three accused.
According to information shared by Achole Police, the youth, identified as Rohan Tiwari (22), had conspired with his friends Kaushal Dubey (21) and Nikhil Singh (22) to stage his abduction. The motive behind the plan was to extract money from his family to start a printing business, as his family had reportedly refused to fund the venture.
The incident came to light late on Tuesday night when Tiwari’s family, who reside in Nalasopara, received a disturbing video. In the video, Rohan was seen tied up at an undisclosed location while two masked individuals appeared to be assaulting him and demanding a ransom of Rs 3 lakh. The so-called kidnappers even threatened to kill him if the ransom wasn’t paid.
Alarmed by the video, Rohan’s uncle immediately contacted Achole Police, following which an FIR was registered and the investigation was launched without delay.
Police teams traced Rohan’s mobile phone location to an area in Chembur, Mumbai. The Achole Police also sought assistance from Shivaji Nagar Police to track him down. However, before the teams could reach the location, Rohan's phone was switched off.
Under police guidance, Rohan's family even transferred Rs 5,000 to the alleged kidnappers in hopes of securing his release, but there was still no sign of Rohan. The next morning, the breakthrough came when Rohan and his friends went to a hotel in Chembur for breakfast. The hotel staff, already alerted by the police, informed authorities, leading to the swift arrest of the trio.
During interrogation, Rohan confessed to orchestrating the entire plot with his friends. Investigations also revealed that Rohan’s friends had applied makeup to his face to make the staged assault look convincing in the video.
The police are continuing their investigation and have warned of strict action against anyone attempting to misuse law enforcement resources through such fake cases.