Janaki Fernandes / Mid-Day

Mumbai, Jan 21: Two days after Anirudh Mani (30), an NRI from the UK, lodged a complaint with the Pune police over the kidnapping of two female friends, the police say he has not given them vital information necessary to verify the identities of the women.

Mani’s complaint said that Yasmin Khan (27) and Sheetal Khanna (28) arrived in Mumbai on Sunday and were on their way to Pune the same day when they were abducted. Mani claims he received calls demanding Rs 350 crore for their release.

According to the police, Mani has not given them the women’s mobile numbers, addresses in India or the UK, or the number from which he received the two ransom calls.

Mani, however, claimed both girls had disconnected their mobile phones before coming to India.

Mani said he spoke to the girls before they left the UK but didn’t know which flight they took to India as they had been waitlisted on a number of flights. “I next spoke to them on January 15, when they landed,” he said.

He added he registered a complaint on January 18, after he received a second call from the alleged abductors.

“After the first caller demanded Rs 350 crore, I thought it was a prank. I spent two days looking for them with the help of friends in India and the UK. Only later did I realize it wasn’t a prank, and registering a complaint,” he said. “I have cooperated with the police,” he claimed.