Rajasthan
Agra doctor abducted, Rajasthan & Uttar Pradesh cops search Chambal ravines, cross river on foot | Jaipur News
AGRA/JAIPUR/ALWAR: A senior surgeon of Agra went mysteriously missing and his car was found over 70km away in Dholpur district of neighbouring Rajasthan a day later on Wednesday, prompting police teams from both the states to launch a combing operation in Chambal ravines. No ransom call was made to the family till Wednesday night.
Dr Umakant Gupta, 60, owns a hospital in Agra. “He left home on Tuesday evening at 6:45pm in his car, but never returned,” said his wife, Dr Vidya Gupta, who is a gynaecologist. It was then that she approached the police and filed a written complaint.
“He took his Baleno car and was carrying a mobile phone. It is switched off now,” she said, adding that the nursing home is just 600-metre from their house.
Superintendent of police (SP) of Agra Botre Rohan Pramod told TOI, “Five police teams have been formed to work on this case. We are looking into similar cases which took place in the region in the last few years.” A case under section 364 of IPC (kidnapping for ransom) has been registered against unknown persons at Etmauddaula police station of Agra. Police said that the last location of Dr Gupta’s mobile was traced near Saiya village of Agra.
“All CCTV footage from the area are being scanned,” a police officer said.
The abduction led to a dawn-to-dusk search operation deep in the ravines of Chambal, in Dholpur district, where heavily armed Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh police teams crossed the river and searched over a dozen villages on Wednesday.
Dholpur SP Keshar Singh Shekhawat told TOI that a search operation to find Dr Gupta was underway in the ravines, which cut across three states — Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
This is probably the first time in recent memory, following the lull in dacoity cases in eastern Rajasthan, that police parties had to cross the gharial-infested Chambal river for a combing operation.
“A head constable of Dholpur police late on Tuesday night had intercepted a suspicious car that was zipping in and out of small lanes to avoid police checkpoints,” SP Shekhawat told TOI.
“Our teams followed the car and arrested the driver, who admitted to have abducted Dr Gupta with the latter’s car from Agra,” Shekhawat said, adding that he quickly relayed the news of the doctor’s abduction to his Agra counterpart.
“During interrogation, the driver revealed that a woman of their gang had honey-trapped the doctor for the abduction. The doctor was present in the car with the woman when the accused barged in, took him into the ravines and, after dropping him there, fled in the same car,” Shekhawat said.
The Dholpur police’s interrogation continued well into the early hours of Wednesday when a police force from neighbouring UP arrived. “We learned that the doctor had been moved into the Chambal valley. We crossed the river on foot and searched multiple hamlets for suspects,” he said.
The Rajasthan Police had also alerted the MP Police that an incident redolent of the dacoity era has been reported. Police said the Chambal ravines are difficult to navigate, but the combing operation is currently underway.
(With inputs from Anuja Jaiswal in Agra)
Dr Umakant Gupta, 60, owns a hospital in Agra. “He left home on Tuesday evening at 6:45pm in his car, but never returned,” said his wife, Dr Vidya Gupta, who is a gynaecologist. It was then that she approached the police and filed a written complaint.
“He took his Baleno car and was carrying a mobile phone. It is switched off now,” she said, adding that the nursing home is just 600-metre from their house.
Superintendent of police (SP) of Agra Botre Rohan Pramod told TOI, “Five police teams have been formed to work on this case. We are looking into similar cases which took place in the region in the last few years.” A case under section 364 of IPC (kidnapping for ransom) has been registered against unknown persons at Etmauddaula police station of Agra. Police said that the last location of Dr Gupta’s mobile was traced near Saiya village of Agra.
“All CCTV footage from the area are being scanned,” a police officer said.
The abduction led to a dawn-to-dusk search operation deep in the ravines of Chambal, in Dholpur district, where heavily armed Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh police teams crossed the river and searched over a dozen villages on Wednesday.
Dholpur SP Keshar Singh Shekhawat told TOI that a search operation to find Dr Gupta was underway in the ravines, which cut across three states — Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
This is probably the first time in recent memory, following the lull in dacoity cases in eastern Rajasthan, that police parties had to cross the gharial-infested Chambal river for a combing operation.
“A head constable of Dholpur police late on Tuesday night had intercepted a suspicious car that was zipping in and out of small lanes to avoid police checkpoints,” SP Shekhawat told TOI.
“Our teams followed the car and arrested the driver, who admitted to have abducted Dr Gupta with the latter’s car from Agra,” Shekhawat said, adding that he quickly relayed the news of the doctor’s abduction to his Agra counterpart.
“During interrogation, the driver revealed that a woman of their gang had honey-trapped the doctor for the abduction. The doctor was present in the car with the woman when the accused barged in, took him into the ravines and, after dropping him there, fled in the same car,” Shekhawat said.
The Dholpur police’s interrogation continued well into the early hours of Wednesday when a police force from neighbouring UP arrived. “We learned that the doctor had been moved into the Chambal valley. We crossed the river on foot and searched multiple hamlets for suspects,” he said.
The Rajasthan Police had also alerted the MP Police that an incident redolent of the dacoity era has been reported. Police said the Chambal ravines are difficult to navigate, but the combing operation is currently underway.
(With inputs from Anuja Jaiswal in Agra)
