Kolkata: A 51-year-old loan firm executive and a resident of Gariahat Road, Kaushik Lahiri, who went missing on Jan 22 after he left home for a trip to Puri, was finally rescued from Habra on Thursday. Two brothers, Chharur Ahmed Baiddya alias Hiru (34) and Mithun Baiddya (23) — residents of Dhapsara under Rautara police station in Habra — were arrested for allegedly kidnapping the victim from Puri on Jan 24. The duo had initially demanded a ransom amount of Rs 14 crore, but later reduced it to Rs 14 lakh, cops claimed. The arrested persons claimed that Lahiri had duped them of Rs 14 lakh on the pretext of arranging a loan of Rs 2.5 crore in 2023.
Victim's wife — Shuchismita Lahiri — lodged a complaint at Rabindra Sarobar PS on Wednesday after receiving a ransom call last Sunday, sources said. The woman alleged that the caller demanded Rs 14 lakh, following which she transferred Rs 50,000 to the ‘kidnappers' online. But when her husband did not return, she finally approached the police.The victim was rescued from the arrested duo's residence in Dhapsara. "Lahiri neither arranged the loan for the accused nor returned the money. On Jan 24, Chharur learnt from one Chitto Ranjan Roy of Kolkata, that Lahiri was in Puri. Hiru and Roy rushed to Puri in a car and abducted Lahiri," cops said. The vehicle used for the abduction was seized from Prince Anwar Shah Road. Roy is absconding.