Kidnapped Jhapa man rescued after 10 days

By Lilaraj Khadka,Birtamod, Feb.1: The young man, who left his house in Birtmod, Jhapa for Ilam but got kidnapped on the way, has been rescued after 10 days.  Rajiv Basnet, 21, was kidnapped on January 19 when he left his house to visit Shree Antu in Ilam with his friends. He was abducted soon after he left his house.

Rajiv is the son of Kamal Basnet, who operated a jewellery shop in Ward No. 3 of Birtamod Municipality.

Family members sprang into action to search for Rajiv after his phone went switched off immediately after leaving the house on his scooter (State 1-01-015 Pa 8096).

Police had initiated investigation when they received information that Rajiv’s family received a demand of Rs. 40 million in ransom for the life of their child.“We found that Rajiv was abducted through a girl who lured him with love. Once the girl was arrested, we came closer to Rajiv,” said Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Rugam Bahadur Kunwar, chief of Area Police Office, Anarmani.

Rajiv was found to have been taken to Manipur, India, after abduction. Police got a tipoff after hearing the kidnappers speaking both Nepali and Manipuri language. Nepal Police had then sought support from Manipur State Police.

“When Indian police also stepped up the search, the kidnappers left the child in the forest area nearby Buttabari, Jhapa, Saturday night,” said DSP Kunwar.The main man behind the kidnapping has been found to be Raju Bhandari of Manipur. He had been a business partner of Rajiv’s father Kamal.

Raju had kidnapped Kamal’s son to solve a financial dispute between them. 

“Raju was helped by a Nepali girl, Pratikshya Yonghang, to kidnap Rajiv. Two other girls – Dipika Limbu and Kaushika Limbu – who lived in Pratikshya’s house were assured of Rs. 2.5 million each for helping kidnap Rajiv and flee the place,” said DSP Kunwar.

For the past six months, Raju had used the girls to seduce Rajiv with fake love. Rajiv had gone to Salbari on January 18 and had planned a trip to Shree Antu for January 19. However, he got kidnapped.

Police informed that Raju felt pressured to leave Rajiv safely when he sensed the risk of getting arrested. 

Among the kidnappers, police have been able to arrest Pratikshya only. 

“Other kidnappers are also being searched for. There are Nepali as well as Indian nationals involved, and there are many of them. However, we will arrest them soon,” said DSP Kunwar.