Cops kill two birds with one stone; Uppinangady kidnap case cracked

Mangaluru: Police officials have arrested five persons in connection with the kidnapping case of two brothers in Uppinangady.

The arrested accused have been identified as Abubakar Siddique alias JCB Siddique (39) of Uppinangady, Qalandar Shafi Kalak (22) of Bantwal, Irfan (38) of Bantwal, Mohammad Riaz (33) of Pandeshwar and Mohammad Irshad (28) of Belthangady. Another accused rowdy sheeter is still absconding.

Incident 1:

The complainant, Nizamuddin of K C Farm in Koyla said that Siddique and others kidnapped him and his brother Sharukh.

Nizamuddin said he was taken to a house in Mallur where he was assaulted by the accused and other strangers. They inquired about his brother Sharukh’s whereabouts. They snatched his mobile phone and dialed Sharukh and called him to come to the Kadambu area.

They picked up Shahrukh and his friend Faizal, and brought them to the house in Mallur.  The gang assaulted Sharukh and demanded to be paid Rs 4 lakhs for their release.

Incident 2:

Two constables of the Mangaluru Rural Police Station  — Mallikarjuna Angadi and Pradeep Naganagowda — who were on night patrol duty, were reportedly attacked by a group on January 19.

The Mangaluru police, who investigated the matter, arrested Siddique, Qalandar Shafi Kalak, Irfan, and Mohammad Irshad. While interrogating them, the Uppinanagady kidnapping case came to light.

It is said that while these accused were arrested, Sharukh who was held hostage was also with them.

Upon further interrogation, the accused revealed that Sharukh’s cousin lived in Dubai and had promised to deliver gold bullion worth Rs 40 lakh to them. But as he failed to do so, a rowdy sheeter involved in the business had ordered the accused to kidnap Sharukh and his brother Nizamuddin.

Later, the accused released Nizamuddin to bring money from his house and held Sharukh hostage.

This revelation led the police to crack two cases at one go.