Pakistani, Indian remanded in custody for kidnapping 3 Indians

A Pakistani and an Indian were remanded in custody after they appeared before a Hong Kong court today in connection with the alleged kidnapping of three Indians here, a media report said.
Mohammad Rafiq, 38, and Singh Karmjit, 27, appeared before Fanling Court for kidnapping three Indians, businessman Manmohan Singh Mangat, banker Satwinder Singh and lawyer Gurinder Singh Gill.
The three Indians were kidnapped on October 25 after they arrived in Hong Kong to discuss the sale of a piece of land owned by Mangat.
The three were met at the airport by a person, who led them to a vehicle which he drove them to a house by a recycling yard in Sha Tau Kok.

They were told to contact their families and ordered to seek USD 2.5 million in ransom payments from their families, South China Morning Post reported.
Rafiq told the Principal Magistrate Bernadette Woo Huey Fang that he had no connection to the gang that took three Indian visitors hostage, despite the fact a vehicle registered to him was used to transport the victims.

The case was adjourned until Thursday, when it will be handled alongside that of Singh Karmjit. Rafiq was remanded in custody, the report said.
Rafiq, who has lived in Hong Kong since 1991, was a businessman who had run his own company trading in bags, shoes and garments in Kwai Chung since 2007.

The court heard that the Indians had not been able to identify Rafiq as the driver of the vehicle.
The court heard on Thursday that Karmjit's contact details had been provided to Indian police by a key suspect they had arrested. He did not enter a plea and was remanded in custody.
The abduction, which led to a rare international police operation over the weekend, ended with their release on Monday.