Police bust UP gang that lured artistes to events & abducted them

For the Meerut Police, Lavi’s arrest is a significant coup in their quest to round up the gang, which has allegedly been responsible for abduction of at least six film artistes — including Bollywood actor Mushtaq Khan and comedian Sunil Pal.

Apart from Lavi and Karanwal, police have also arrested former councillor Sarthak Chaudhary, Azim, Sabiuddin and Shashank, Akash alias Gola and one other unidentified person. Meanwhile, two more unidentified suspects are absconding.

Police claim that during questioning, Karanwal had revealed that Lavi, a resident of Bijnor’s Nai Basti, had previously headed another gang that was involved in heists. But six months ago, that gang allegedly split following disagreements over their loot.

“Only Pal, Karanwal and the former councillor Chaudhary remained of that gang. Then, seven months ago, seven more members were inducted and this new gang carried out six kidnappings,” Meerut Senior Superintendent of Police Vipin Tada told The Indian Express. Chaudhary, a former Bijnor municipality councillor, reportedly has over a dozen criminal cases registered against him.

In the new gang too, it was Lavi who would plan the abductions. First, he would lure artistes to make appearances at events in western UP by even giving them an advance payment. When the artistes took the bait, they would follow their cars from the IGI Airport, Delhi, and eventually abduct them near Modinagar in Ghaziabad district.

The artistes they thus lured would typically be character actors who wouldn’t demand large sums as advance, police said. Lavi would let the gang in on the abduction plan only hours before, Karanwal has allegedly revealed.

“Nobody except Lavi knew who their target was until the actual abduction,” Tada claimed. “Gang members also had fixed roles assigned to them and would do that for every abduction.

The gang’s first alleged abduction was film and TV actor Arun Bakshi in August, followed by actors such as Khan in November and Pal earlier this month.

But not all their plans were successful. Actor Rajesh Puri, who’s known for his 90s sitcom ‘Yeh Duniya Gazab Ki’ and the 2002 historical drama ‘Aamrapali’, allegedly managed to escape captivity while being taken from the Delhi airport to Bijnor.

It was on the back of a missing person’s report and a zero FIR filed on December 9 by Pal’s wife that the gang’s plans unraveled. According to a complaint by his wife Sunita Pal, the comedian had left Mumbai on December 2 and could not be contacted.

The Mumbai Police transferred the zero FIR to the Meerut Police. At that time, Lavi was allegedly planning to abduct Bollywood actor Shakti Kapoor. “He (Lavi) had … even spoken to him about being a special guest at a programme in Bijnor. The actor demanded `5 lakh as advance money, which was being arranged,” Tada said.

Meanwhile, Meerut Police began examining the evidence it had – 100 CCTV images from Modinagar to Bijnor and an audio tape that the gang had allegedly released after the comedian’s kidnapping. They used police surveillance to narrow down suspects. But it was a letter written to police on December 18 that provided the most vital clue. It was written by an undertrial in Meerut jail, who identified the voice in the audio tape as Lavi’s.

“Vivek Saini, an inmate from the district jail, had claimed that Lavi and his gang had kidnapped him on October 1 last year and that he was released only after his family coughed up a ransom of `10 lakh,” Meerut Superintendent of Police Ayush Vikram Singh told The Indian Express. “I forwarded the letter to the Kotwali police station and directed them to submit a report within three days.”

For the Meerut police, this was the final piece to the puzzle. They arrested four suspects the same night following a tip off, and others, including Arjun Karanwal, quickly followed suit.

Besides abductions, Lavi would also allegedly lend money to locals at a high rate of interest. police said.“Lavi will be booked under Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986, and his illegally accumulated wealth and property will be attached soon,” Tada said.