Source: The Financial Express: Story; Dipankar Ghose: New Delhi, Dec 27 2011, 02:57 IST

Published on: 5 December, 2012, Wednesday

New Delhi: A Doordarshan anchor was kidnapped outside Pacific Mall in Kaushambi by three unidentified persons, who forced him to withdraw Rs 40,000 from two different ATMs. They drove away with the journalist's Maruti Swift after letting him off. Police later found it abandoned near Baghpat.

Ashok Srivastava, who hosts the RTI-based show Janne ka Haq on Doordarshan, said he was parking his car at Pacific Mall, Kaushambi, around 8 pm when a man hit him on the head with a pistol.

He said: "My window was rolled down. He hit me with the pistol, and I started bleeding. He held me at gunpoint and said he would kill me unless I remained silent. Then two more men, also armed, entered my car and pulled me into the back seat. They then drove my car towards Ghaziabad, followed by Modinagar. They kept asking me for the password of my credit card, which I had no option but to reveal. They then withdrew Rs 40,000 from two separate ATM booths."

According to Srivastava, while he was being abducted the three kept taunting him constantly, enquiring if he was from a wealthy family and how much ransom his relatives would be willing to give. "At one point, they parked the car in a secluded area near Baraut and started drinking. I was able to convince them that I didn't have any money. They told me if I went to the police, they would hunt my family down and kill them because this was 'business' for them. Around 1 am, they left me near a bus stop and told me to find my way home. I immediately went to the police station, and reached home around 7 am," he said.

Police said they have located the stolen car, and are now trying to identify the gang responsible for the kidnapping. J K Shahi, Superintendent of Police, Ghaziabad (City), said, "We are trying to identify the three persons. After abandoning the car, the three allegedly robbed a Baghpat resident of his motorcycle to make their escape."

Police said the robbers may not have known that Srivastava was a senior journalist. "While the crime was definitely planned, from what we have gathered from Srivastava, it seems like they did not specifically target him. They just planned to kidnap anybody who had parked there," a senior officer said.

Cases have been registered under Sections 394 (causing hurt during robbery), 342 (wrongful confinement) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code at the Indirapuram police station.

Link: http://www.financialexpress.com/news/doordarshan-anchor-abducted-robbed-let-off/892476