Udupi: Kundapur police on Wednesday arrested six persons, including a woman, on charges of kidnap and extortion.The accused have been identified as Savad alias Achu,28, from Byndoor; Saifulla,38, from Gulwadi; Mohammad Nasir Sharif,36, from Hanglur; Abdul Sattar,23, from Kumbhashi; Abdul Aziz,26, from Hosanagar, Shivamogga; and Asma, 43, from Kundapur. Udupi SP Hariram Shankar said the complainant, Sandeep Kumar from Kasaragod, came into contact with one Abdul Savad in Kundapur about three months ago. Savad then introduced Sandeep to a woman named Asma and shared her mobile number with him, suggesting that Sandeep could seek sexual favours from her.Thereafter, when the complainant called Asma, she told him to come to Kundapur. On Sept 2, around 6.30 pm, when Sandeep reached near RR Plaza in Kundapur, Asma took him to her house and later called in the other accused. Sharif then allegedly threatened the complainant at knifepoint, demanding Rs 3 lakh. When the complainant tried to flee, accused Savad, Saifulla, Sharif, Sattar, and Aziz tied his hands and assaulted him physically. It was further alleged that Saifulla and Asma snatched Rs 6,200 from the complainant, with Asma later forcing him to transfer another Rs 5,000 through UPI payment from his bank account to Saifulla. Later, the accused snatched Sandeep’s debit card, forced him to share its PIN, and confined him to a room. Saifulla, Nasir, and Sattar then withdrew Rs 40,000 from his bank account, and around 11.30 pm that same night they let him go.Police said the accused were arrested from Koteshwara village within 24 hours after Sandeep filed a complaint. Two cars used in the crime have also been seized. The SP said, Asma and Nasir had cheating cases filed against them earlier.
