The police have arrested five men in connection with the alleged abduction of a 25-year-old Snapdeal employee, Dipti Sarna, last week.
The main abductor has been termed a ‘psychopath’ and a ‘schizophrenic’ by the police, who say he was inspired by a similar abduction plot in the 1993 Shah Rukh Khan- starrer Darr.
In a news conference on Monday, Ghaziabad SSP Dharmendra Singh said that the abductor identified as Devendra had stalked Sarna for a whole year after he saw her first at Rajiv Chowk metro station back in January-February 2015.
He did over 100 recces and observed what Sarna would wear, where she lived, who she was talking to. But he never interacted with her. Devendra also observed that she would get off at Vaishali metro station from where she would take an autorickshaw to her residence. Thereafter, he purchased two autorickshaws.Dharmendra Singh, Ghaziabad SSP
Devendra and an associate Pradeep would operate autorickshaws to try and pick her up but were unsuccessful because she would always share it with other passengers.
He had told his associates that she was involved in a hawala racket and she would not go to the police if they abducted her.
The police said they suspected a close relative or friend of Sarna’s to be involved since they had not recieved any ransom call or threat and she had not endured any physical harm.
In her statement to the police, Sarna claimed that the abductors had even fed her.
Devendra told her he wouldn’t kill her, and even said that his associates had bad intentions. He wanted to portray himself as the hero and run away with her to Nepal. Devendra said he was a graduate who was influenced by the likes of Adolf Hitler and Genghis Khan.Dharmendra Singh, Ghaziabad SSP
Singh added Devendra has around 30 existing criminal cases against him.
The police have recovered her bag, though they have yet to find her phone. They have also recovered a Swift and a Hyundai i10 that were used to abduct Sarna.
The police are on the lookout for four more suspects.
Sarna was reported missing on the night of 10 February, but was reunited with family on the morning of 12 February, unharmed.
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