City doctor abudcts by goons, demands ransom of Rs 10 lakh

DCP Zone IV Nirmala Devi, PI Sakkardara 

Ajeet Sid and staff with arrested accused persons 

A Radiologist was abducted by two goons on Saturday night and they tried to extort Rs 10 lakh from him. The medico was abducted from outside of his clinic and taken around the city as the goons made a futile bid to strike it rich. Finally they let off the Doctor after snatching two gold rings, a gold chain and cash of Rs. 40,000 from him.

The Radiologist is identified as Dr Kedar Sharad Joshi (50), a resident of Jaiprakash Nagar. He was under mental trauma after the incident and reported the matter to police after 24 hours. Acting swiftly Sakkardara police have tracked down and arrested the abductors within three hours after the crime was reported.

Dr. Joshi has X Ray Sonography Clinic at Tajshree Tower, Umred road. The arrested accused are identified as Roshan Ashok Raut (30), a resident of Plot No. 30, New Subhedar Layout, Gaurav Apartment, and Jugnu alias Pritam Wankhede (30), a resident of Plot No. 385, Sanjay Gandhi Nagar, Hudkeshwar Road.

According to police, Wankhede is the prime plotter as he used to work as driver at the hospital eight-years ago. He was sacked by Dr. Joshi after Wankhede was caught stealing money from the cash counter. 

The idea of abduction came in mind of Wankhede when he was passing through the area with Raut on Friday. After seeing Dr Joshi's clinic, Wankhede told Raut that former has roaring practice and daily carries cash of Rs 50,000 and two hatched a plan in a bid to extract money.

Wankhede was hard pressed for money as he was having multiple affairs with three women. It's become difficult for him to manage day-to-day expenditure. Similarly, Raut was also facing financial crunch. He is running a Biryani Centre at Uday Nagar Chowk. 

On Saturday afternoon, Raut approved the plan and both criminals hatched the conspiracy to abduct the Doctor, police said after interrogation of the two. They came near the hospital in the afternoon hours and identified car of the doctor and returned home. 

They came back at 9 pm with a sharp-edged weapon and as Dr Joshi came near the car the accused accosted him and Raut pushed him into the car. Wankhede took control of driving seat and they zoomed away from the spot. Raut brandished the weapon and directed Dr Joshi to remain silent. The goons demanded Rs 10 lakh from the Radiologist in lieu of his release. However Dr Joshi refused to pay the money stating that much amount is not with him nor at home. The accused then snatched his gold rings, gold chain and Rs 40,000 cash from his bag. 

After roaming in the city in search of an isolated spot the abductors stopped the vehicle in a lane at Itwari area at 11.45 pm. The goons fled the spot leaving the doctor in the vehicle. Dr Joshi was under mental trauma after the incident. He somehow managed to reach the home and took medical treatment. 

He reported the matter to the police on Sunday night. A police officer said that Dr Joshi was unable to identify the culprits. The cops rounded up the culprits on basis of description revealed by the doctor. The cops have also checked the CCTV footage but the images were blur as it was raining when the crime took place. 

The accused have been booked under Sections 364 (a), 387, 394, 397 and 34 of Indian Penal Code read with Sections 4, 25 of Arms Act and Sections 37 (a) and 135 of Mumbai Police Act. 

Under the guidance of Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Zone IV Nirmala Devi, the arrest was effected by Police Inspector of Sakkardara police station Ajeet Sid, PI Chandrakant Yadav, PSI Digambar Rathod, Sanjay Sonawane, Anand Jarjule, Rashid Sheikh, Manoj Dhole, Sandip Borsare, Shalikram Shende, Pawan Lambat, Vidyadhar Paunikar, Rohan Choudhary, Yogesh Daf, Dipak (Cyber) and others. 

DCP Nirmala Devi said that names of the police personnel would be proposed for the reward.