When Bengaluru-based businessman Shiva Shankar rushed to the Madanayakanahalli police on June 16, claiming he had been kidnapped and robbed of Rs 1.09 crore on a busy street, he had no idea that the man who allegedly plotted the crime was sitting right next to him in the driver’s seat.
On Monday, the city police announced the arrest of five, including Shiva Shankar’s car driver, and the recovery of Rs 85 lakh in cash. The arrested accused have been identified as M Chethan (the driver), Soma, Surya, Basavana Gowda (a civil engineer), and M Vinay (an autorickshaw driver).
Staged kidnapping
Shiva Shankar, who runs a security agency in North Bengaluru, initially filed a complaint stating that both he and his driver Chethan had been kidnapped and robbed.
According to the FIR, Shiva Shankar has had decade-long business dealings with three associates from Andhra Pradesh: Mohammed Parwez, Aleem, and Jipsan. The group had been pooling funds for a venture under a company named the American Nuclear Resource Centre.
The three associates had travelled to Bengaluru and checked into a hotel in Yelahanka. On June 13 and 15, Shiva Shankar and Chethan visited the hotel, collecting a total of Rs 1.09 crore in cash for safekeeping.
On June 15, while they were returning at around 11.05 pm, two men on a motorcycle allegedly staged a crash into Shiva Shankar’s car near the Ganesha Temple in Kuduregere Colony. Moments later, five men emerged from another car, blocking their path. They forced the victims into the vehicle and drove them to an isolated location in Nelamangala, demanding a massive ransom, according to the FIR.
Fearing for his life, and knowing that Rs 74 lakh was already sitting in the boot of his intercepted car, Shiva Shankar lied to the kidnappers, claiming he had another Rs 35 lakh stashed at his house.
The gang then allegedly forced Chethan to return to Shiva Shankar’s house, accompanied by a few armed kidnappers. Coerced by the armed men, Shiva Shankar’s wife handed over the Rs 35 lakh. At around 5 am, the kidnappers allegedly abandoned both Chethan and Shiva Shankar at an isolated spot and fled. When the victims returned to their vehicle, they discovered that the Rs 74 lakh in the car was gone as well.
How the police cracked the case
The Madanayakanahalli police registered a case of robbery and kidnapping. Initially, investigators were sceptical of Shiva Shankar himself, as he was an accused in a separate case involving a fraudulent antique vessel scam.
“We questioned Shiva Shankar multiple times, suspecting he might be lying,” a police officer privy to the investigation said. “We then questioned Chethan separately, and his version matched Shiva Shankar’s. Once we established that the businessman’s complaint was genuine, we realised only a handful of people knew the money was being transported: the victim, his associates, and the driver. It was clear it was an inside job.”
After clearing the Andhra Pradesh associates of any wrongdoing, investigators turned their focus to call detail records.
The breakthrough came when Chethan’s call logs revealed frequent communication with Soma, a known rowdy-sheeter registered at the Soladevanahalli police station. “We began tailing Soma and noticed he was spending unusually large sums of money,” the officer added. “During interrogation, he spilled the beans.”
The police said Chethan had been working as Shiva Shankar’s driver for two years and was familiar with his employer’s financial dealings. Assuming the cash was unaccounted for and knowing Shiva Shankar’s own brush with the law, Chethan gambled on the belief that his employer would never dare approach the police, they added.
While the gang had been planning a robbery for a while, Chethan allegedly tipped them off the moment he realised a massive cache of cash was being transported, orchestrating the kidnapping.
Bengaluru police have arrested five people, including the driver of a city businessman, for allegedly masterminding a staged kidnapping and robbing him of Rs 1.09 crore (Image generated using AI). 
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