Home visit turns dangerous for Odisha doctor, Rs 10 lakh extorted

Bhubaneswar: In a scene straight out of a thriller movie, a government doctor was allegedly kidnapped and later extorted of Rs 10 lakh by a couple who called him into their house for a check-up by pretending to be sick. 

The police arrested four persons including a woman on Tuesday under sections 342 (Punishment for wrongful confinement), 365 (Kidnapping or abducting with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine a person), 385 (Putting person in fear of injury to commit extor­tion), 386 (Extortion by putting a person in fear of death or grievous hurt), 387, 389, 394 (Voluntarily causing hurt in committing robbery) and 120-B (Punishment of criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) based on the doctor's statement who filed a complaint immediately after being released by the accused.

During the investigation of the case, the police recovered Rs 30,000 cash, a knife, two mobile phones, and a cheque worth Rs 9 lakh from the possession of the accused. The items have been seized as evidence to present in the court. 

Also read- Thane Doctor Kidnapped, Released After Rs 30 Lakh Ransom; 5 Arrested

According to the police, the incident occurred on September 8 when the doctor received a call from a woman who pretended to be ill and asked the doctor to pay a visit to her house for a check-up. In response to this, the doctor agreed to visit her house since he knew her as a patient when she was posted at Madhuban Primary Health Centre. 

“When the doctor reached her home around 11 pm on September 8, she and the other three accused locked him up in a room. Brandishing a knife, the woman demanded Rs 25 lakh from him. She threatened to frame the doctor in a false case if he did not pay. The doctor agreed to pay Rs 10 lakh,” deputy commissioner of police Prateek Singh informed TOI.

Ultimately, when the doctor had no other option to save himself, he agreed to pay the amount. At first, the doctor transferred Rs 1 lakh from his UPI account to the accused by sharing his password. Since the limit of transfer in PhonePe is only one lakh, the couple took the doctor to his house and forced him to write a cheque worth Rs 9 lakh in favour of the accused woman. 

After collecting the cheque, the accused released the doctor by handing him over his valuables and threatened him for not sharing the incident with anyone and the police. However, the doctor paid no heed and informed the Tamando Police about the incident. 

While interrogating the accused, it was discovered that two other individuals were also subjected to the accused's modus operandi but the victim's never reported the incident to the police. Police are investigating the case to identify any other person involved with the gang. 

Also read- Hyderabad: Dentist Kidnapped By Businessman, House Ransacked