Special Correspondent
Pune: In a shocking incident, a diamond merchant from Pune staged his own kidnapping to escape the pressure from creditors.
The businessman, a resident of Bibwewadi, dropped his wife and daughter at their society premises after picking up his daughter from school on Monday. He then told them he had some work in the Camp area and left on his two-wheeler. Shortly after, his wife received a call from an unknown person claiming that he had been kidnapped and demanding a ransom of ₹2 crore. Alarmed, she immediately filed a complaint at the Bibwewadi police station.
The police launched an investigation and traced the merchant’s last known location near Navale Bridge. CCTV footage from the area was examined, and police teams were dispatched to Mumbai and Bengaluru to track him down.
Since the businessman had switched off his phone, tracing him was difficult. However, on Friday, he briefly turned it on to contact his sister before switching it off again. While the police investigation was still underway, he suddenly appeared at the Bibwewadi police station and confessed to faking his own abduction.
He admitted to the police that he had borrowed money from multiple people and, unable to handle the pressure from creditors, decided to stage his kidnapping. He made a fake ransom call to his wife, switched off his phone near Navale Bridge, and then traveled to various locations.
According to his statement, he first went to Ravet, then took a private vehicle to Kalamboli in Mumbai. From there, he reached Bombay Central and stayed at a lodge for a day. He then moved to a lodge in Khar West for two days and spent another day in Vile Parle before finally returning to Pune.
The police are now verifying his statements and deciding on further legal action.
