26-year-old joint secretary of NCP's student wing in Mumbai was allegedly abducted by four youths, driven around Khar and Santacruz for two hours and assaulted in the car, to extort Rs 40,000
Furkan Shaikh will now think twice before helping out a friend. The 26-year-old joint secretary of NCP’s student wing in Mumbai was allegedly abducted by four youths from a birthday party on Wednesday night, driven around Khar and Santacruz for two hours and assaulted in the car — all to extract money from him to reimburse a friend for her legal proceedings.
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At the birthday party of an NCP leader in Khar, the four youths approach Furkan Sheikh. Illustration/Uday Mohite
Shaikh managed to jump out at a police nakabandi. The police arrested three of the alleged kidnappers and seized the luxury car they used as a getaway vehicle.
They ask him out for a smoke. Sheikh agrees and steps out with them
The abductors allegedly wanted him to reimburse an emittered mutual friend’s charges towards payment of an advocate’s fees of Rs 40,000.
Once outside, the four men ask him to join them for a drive in a luxury car. Again, he agrees
The NCP leader had introduced the friend, Forum, to the advocate to settle a home loan case, but the legal proceedings didn’t go as per her expectations. The four youths held Shaikh responsible for their friend’s financial loss and demanded that he repay her legal fees.
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Inside the car, he is slapped, threatened and bullied to repay the fee of Rs 40,000 their friend had to shell out to pay an advocate referred by Shaikh. After one of the men gets off near Poddar College in Santacruz, the others drive Shaikh around for quite a while, repeating their threats and demanding immediate payment
Threatened, assaulted
It all began at the birthday celebrations of an NCP leader in Khar around 10 pm on Wednesday. The four youths — Saif Khatri (22), Kais Bhati (24), Shahnawaz Khan (19) and Afrid Kalwatkar (22) — called Shaikh out for a smoke. Once outside, they asked him to join them for a drive in a Volkswagen car.
Two hours later, the car nears a police nakabandi near the Vakola flyover. Shaikh escapes as the car slows down near the barricades. The police block the vehicle and catch the abductors. They are detained and taken to the police station
After driving around for a bit, they stopped near Poddar College in Santacruz West and bullied him. When a clueless Shaikh demanded an explanation, the men told him categorically that they held him responsible for their friend’s financial mess. They demanded that he call up his friends and family and arrange for the cash immediately. Around this time, Kalwatkar left the spot. But the others drove Shaikh back to Khar and even allegedly slapped him two to three times to browbeat him into paying up.
(From top) Afrid Kalwatkar, Saif Khatri, Kais Bhati and Furkan Sheikh escaped from their clutches at a police nakabandi
Rescued at nakabandi
“When the car, heading for Kalina, neared the Vakola flyover, I spotted a police nakabandi. The men had to slow down, and I grabbed this chance to jump out. The police then blocked the car and caught the men,” revealed Shaikh, Bandra resident.
The Vakola police detained the three, following which the case was transferred to the Khar police station. Khatri, Bhati and Khan were then arrested under sections 365 (kidnapping), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC, said Ramchandra Jadhav, senior Khar police inspector.
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