Bhubaneswar: In a shocking case of deception, a 22-year-old final-year engineering student and three of his associates have been detained by Info Valley Police in Bhubaneswar for allegedly staging a fake kidnapping to extort ₹13 lakh from his family.
The student, who was living in a rented accommodation in Madanpur on the city’s outskirts, is accused of orchestrating the plan to clear debts allegedly accumulated due to an extravagant lifestyle.
The incident came to light on Wednesday after his father, a resident of Odisha’s Kalahandi district, filed a complaint stating that his son had been abducted by unidentified persons who demanded ransom for his release.
Police Commissioner S. Dev Datta Singh formed a special team that used technical surveillance and human intelligence to trace the missing student. Within an hour of the complaint, police located him at a house near the Madanpur panchayat office.
Although the initial operation began as a rescue effort, investigators later discovered that the kidnapping had been staged. Police said the student had allegedly used his own mobile phone to call his family while pretending to be a captive and demanding ransom.
Preliminary findings suggest the student had borrowed nearly ₹10 lakh over the past few years to maintain a high-cost lifestyle. Investigators are now probing how the funds were used and the role of the three associates in executing the plan.
All four accused are currently in police custody, and further investigation is underway to determine the full extent of the conspiracy and any additional financial links.
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