Four arrested for abducting former cop in a robbery attempt

Satara police in Maharashtra have arrested four persons who allegedly abducted a retired Deputy Superintendent of Police in a robbery attempt.

The arrested men were identified as Gajanan Teddikar (45), Vikas Mishra (30), Mahesh Bhandarkar (53) and Dilip Mhatre (49).

The cash which they allegedly tried to loot belonged to a sugar factory in Karnataka, said Satara Superintendent of Police Sandeep Patil.

Factory's chairman Girish Sarwad and executive director Sudhir Biradar had come to Karad in the district yesterday, carrying Rs 4.5 crore with them, for hiring sugarcane cutting labourers, said another police officer familiar with the probe.

Their friend and former DySP of Karnataka police Basawraj Choukimath and one Subhash Patil were accompanying them.

They invited Dilip Mhatre to their hotel in Karad as Subhash Patil told them that Mhatre, owner of a finance company, was interested in providing them a loan.

Mhatre, who knew that Sarwad and Biradar were carrying a huge amount of cash, allegedly planned to rob them, the officer said.

Mhatre met them, and offered to drive them in his Scorpio to another person, who, he said, can provide them a loan, the officer said.

On the way, an Innova intercepted them. Persons in the Innova claimed to be crime branch sleuths and asked them to get down from the Scorpio.

As the Sarwad and Biradar got down, the accused started beating them, the officer said.

However, Choukimath, the retired cop, refused to get down from the Scorpio, in which Rs 4.5 crore were also kept.

The accused got into the Scorpio and drove it --with the former DySP inside -- towards Ratnagiri.

Others, however, alerted police, and the Scorpio was stopped on the road to Chiplun yesterday evening. All the accused were arrested and the cash was recovered.

Further probe is on, the officer said.