Police smell a plot in attack on Mamta’s PA

Kulkarni’s assistant Satish Rajaram Wagh lodged a First Information Report with the D N Nagar police on Tuesday, claiming he was abducted by four car-borne persons who intercepted the rickshaw in which he was travelling at Andheri and whisked away to an unknown destination at Versova. He claims his abductors released him almost immediately after threatening him with dire consequences.However, police say the facts don’t add up.Additional Commissioner of Police (North-West) Dr Satyapal Singh said that it is difficult to believe the actress had been threatened as she had already been provided with personal security. "Probably there is more to the incident than what looks like a case of abduction," he said.

Police suspicions have also been fuelled by the 24-hour lapse between the alleged abduction and the lodging of the FIR. They say the drama may have been staged to secure personal security for the actress’s sister Priyadarshani.

Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) R S Sharma wonders why Wagh had been released at a spot 40 metres from where he is supposed to have been abducted, when the threat could have been issued over the telephone.

Wagh, however, is adamant on sticking by his story. He said that he was abducted by four men near R C Compound en route to Yari Road at Andheri (West). He also claims the Kulkarni family has received several telephonic threats over the last few days. Strangely, he denies that Mamta had beenprovided personal security by the police.

"These fellows (his alleged abductors) told me they would finish off the family if we stopped `acting smart’. I have been asked to identify the suspects at the Modus Operandi Bureau at the police headquarters," he adds.