The Samta Nagar Police in Mumbai have arrested two men for allegedly kidnapping a 27-year-old delivery executive and demanding Rs 1-lakh ransom for his release. The accused have been identified as Aditya Anand Darekar (24) and Shabir Abdul Rahim Khan (23). The police said the alleged mastermind in the case, MH Darekar, remains absconding.

The incident occurred on Saturday evening at Bihari Hill, near Gadha Maidan in the Poisar area of Kandivali.

According to police sources, the delivery executive, Shubham Sahu, who works for a medical company, was on duty delivering bandages and other equipment when he was allegedly assaulted and kidnapped by a group of men. Sahu was reportedly taken to Gadha Maidan in Poisar area.

The accused then used his mobile phone to call his wife and told her that Sahu had been caught “abusing a woman” and was in their custody. They demanded Rs 1 lakh from his wife for his release. When his wife requested a video call with Sahu, they refused to do so and asked her to meet them near Gadha Maidan.

On reaching the spot, the wife was confronted by five to six men who allegedly threatened and abused her, warning, “Do you want to see your husband’s dead body?”

She again pleaded to see her husband but was denied. Fearing for his safety, she informed her siblings about her husband’s abduction and together they rushed to Samta Nagar Police Station to lodge a complaint.

The police registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) pertaining to kidnapping, extortion, criminal intimidation, and assault.

After the case was filed, on-duty Sub-inspector Sagar Devrukhe immediately alerted Police Inspector Sanjay Patil and other senior officers. A special team comprising over a dozen officers launched a search operation to look for the accused and delivery executive.

The accused, upon learning about the police complaint, released Sahu fearing arrest.

Later, based on a tip-off from an informant, the police intercepted Khan and Darekar around 9.30 pm on August 9 and arrested the duo.

“The matter stemmed from the victim talking loudly on his mobile phone while the accused were sitting nearby. The victim used certain words during the conversation which they thought were directed at them. Angered by this, they assaulted and kidnapped him, and demanded ransom from his wife,” said an officer from the investigation team.

The accused were produced before the Borivli Metropolitan Magistrate Court and remanded in police custody. The police are on the lookout for the mastermind, the officer added further.

Source