the goan I network
MAPUSA
The four Goan youth who were reportedly abducted at Kagal-Kolhapur while returning in their car from Shirdi pilgrimage, were found abandoned near a petrol pump at Ajra on Monday, before being rescued by the Kolhapur Police.
The kidnappers are also reported to have forced the Goan youth to part with cash of ` 55,000, after stealing their ATM cards and forcing them to disclose the PINs.
The four youth, Rahul Dhargalkar (21), Dyaneshwar Gokakkar (21), both from Dangui Colony in Mapusa, and Manoj Gaonkar (20) and Sawlo Gaonkar, both from Mayem, had gone to Shirdi in their car on December 8.
While returning to Goa on Sunday night, their car collided with another car at Kagal, some distance away from Kolhapur. The occupants of the other car kidnapped the four youth, contacted their families and demanded a ransom of ` 25 lakh, failing which they threatened to kill the youth.
The family members reported the incident to Mapusa and Bicholim police and also went to Kolhapur, where they filed a police complaint.
The Kolhapur police forwarded the case to Crime Branch at Kalhapur. SP Sanjay Mohite and his team traced the mobile numbers of the youth and found that the kidnappers were changing their locations to evade the police.
On learning that the police had tracked them, the kidnappers allegedly left the youth near the Ajra petrol pump at 2 am on Tuesday.
