Rajkot: Woman held for ‘kidnapping’ niece to extort money from brother; friend also nabbed

Days later, the police learnt that the woman and the child were in Madhya Pradesh. Further investigation led the police to Indore where the girl and her aunt were found unharmed. They were brought back to Rajkot and handed over to the family.

ACP Radhika Bharai said, “After the woman and her niece were returned to their family, Reema said they were both abducted. So, her brother filed a complaint with the Pradyumannagar police station.”

The ACP said Reema, who is unmarried, stays with her brother and his family in the same house. “Recounting the incident, Reema told her family that on July 24, when she left the house with her niece, they both were gagged and put in a car and taken to Indore,” said ACP Bharai.

The police then began another investigation into the case and found that the whole conspiracy had been hatched and carried out by Reema and an advocate named Rajveersinh Zala, said police.

“Reema and Rajveersinh had met around seven months ago and had talked about the financial dispute between the siblings. That is when the plan was hatched. They believed that instead of just Reema going missing, the kidnapping of the child would make her father more amenable to paying the money (the supposed ransom amount),” said the ACP.

Reema and Zala were booked for kidnapping, criminal conspiracy and kidnapping with intent to extort. Reema was arrested on August 2.

Since Zala was still missing, the Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) of Rajkot City Police got involved in the case and traced him to Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh, where he was admitted to a hospital.

ACP B B Basiya of the Crime Branch said, “We found Zala admitted to a hospital in Ujjain on Sunday. He said he had consumed some poisonous substance. Once the doctors cleared him, we got a transfer remand and brought him to Rajkot, where he was promptly placed under arrest.”

Further investigation is underway.