Student kidnapped at gunpoint in UT

A 20-year-old college student was allegedly kidnapped at gunpoint by three unidentified men near the power grid area in Hallomajra here on April 29.

According to Ramesh, a student of Longowal Group of Colleges in Dera Bassi and resident of Ram Darbar, Phase II, he was kidnapped around 8 pm on April 29 while he was waiting for an auto-rickshaw near the power grid in Hallomajra. A white-coloured car, bearing the registration number Punjab 10DS-5078, pulled over near him. Three men alighted from the vehicle and kidnapped him, he alleged.

Ramesh was reportedly beaten by the kidnappers inside the vehicle. One of them pulled out a pistol and accused him of being involved in drug dealing. They demanded Rs 5 lakh for his release.

The student contacted his sister and asked her to arrange the ransom. She managed to collect Rs 1.3 lakh and delivered the amount to the kidnappers in Kharar, after which they released Ramesh.

The police have initiated an investigation into the case. Preliminary inquiries suggest that the car was registered in the name of some person in Gurdaspur. The victim had no visible injury marks, as such no medical examination has conducted.

The police are scanning the CCTV footage of Hallomajra and Kharar areas to identify the kidnappers. An FIR was registered under Sections 115(2), 140(2), 308(2), 351(2), and 3(5) of the BNS along with 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act at the Sector-31 police station on a complaint filed by Ramesh.

Chandigarh