Mumbai police have booked three men for allegedly kidnapping, assaulting and trying to extort money from a 28-year-old vendor in Powai. The police said two accused were arrested on Tuesday as they kidnapped the complainant for around five hours on Saturday, during which the trio allegedly tied his hands and legs and assaulted him at Aarey jungle with their belts. The victim identified as Satyakumar Jogindar Mehta, who has been working as a vendor at Sakivihar Road in Powai since the last six years, was allegedly kidnapped by the trio from his stall on Saturday. Mehta in his complaint identified the accused as Mahesh Chavan and Abbu Ansari while the third accused was rickshaw driver Vinay Prasad in which the complainant was allegedly kidnapped. The complainant in his statement to the police said: “On Saturday around 3.30pm, the trio came to my stall and started demanding money. As I refused to give them any money, thy started assaulting me and pushed me into the auto-rickshaw. They were taking me inside the Aarey jungle, but mid-way they spotted a wine shop. They snatched some money from my pocket and bought three bottles of beer.” The trio took the complainant near the Aarey Colony at gate number 26, following which they allegedly tied Mehta’s hands and legs and assaulted the complainant with their belts. “The trio also snatched all the money I had in my pocket, following which they gave me death threats if I fail to give them Rs 30,000 till the next day. They then dropped me near my stall at Powai by 8.30pm the same day,” said the complainant in his statement to police. The complainant then approached Powai police station and registered a case against the trio. The accused, identified as Chavan and the rickshaw driver Prasad, were nabbed on Tuesday while the third accused Ansari is at large. The investigators revealed that the three committed the crime for the first time and were trying to extort money to fund their daily needs. Deputy Commissioner of police R N Reddy (Zone X) confirmed the arrest.
