Kanpur, Jul 15 (IANS): The Kanpur police has landed in a major controversy after it asked the family of a kidnapped man to pay the ransom money to the kidnappers.
The family arranged for the money, Rs 30 lakh, and went to the designated spot on the Gujaini railway track on Monday. The police were apparently waiting in the wings to swoop down on the kidnapper.
However, the entire plan went awry when the kidnapper fled with the money and there was no rescuing the hostage.
According to reports, Sandeep, son of Chaman Singh who works at a local pathology lab, was kidnapped on June 22.
The kidnappers called up the family and demanded Rs 30 lakh as ransom. Subsequently, Chaman Singh lodged a complaint and an FIR was registered at the Barra police station. On the advice of the police, Chaman Singh managed to arrange the ransom amount and, as asked by the police, he handed it over to the kidnapper.
"However, the police are now saying that they are clueless about the whereabouts of the kidnappers as well as my son," Singh told the reporters.
A video of his daughter crying for help from the media and the police has also gone viral on the social media.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Dinesh Kumar Prabhu, said: "I am looking into the investigation of this alleged kidnapping case registered at Barra police station. Our priority is to rescue the hostage."
He further said that separate teams have been formed and further investigations were on to trace the criminals and rescue the victim.
SSP also assured to investigate the role of the police and said that if found guilty, they will face strict action.