Sendhwa (Madhya Pradesh): Sendhwa Rural Police booked four persons for allegedly holding two villagers hostage and demanding money to settle an elopement dispute.
The suspects confined two men overnight, abused them, and threatened them after a family failed to arrange Rs 2.5 lakh during a compromise meeting.
Rural Police Station In-charge OP Chongde stated that the action followed continuous instructions from SP Padmvilochan Shukla, AlSP Dheeraj Babbar, and SDOP Ajay Waghmare to crack down on illegal extortion rackets operating under the guise of family compromise talks.
Police said the matter surfaced after a girl from Jampati village reportedly left willingly with a man from Jamania village. On Wednesday, some Jampati villagers allegedly called the man's family for discussions and demanded Rs2.5 lakh for a settlement.
When they could not arrange the amount immediately, the villagers allegedly held Chetan and Omkar from Jamania hostage, threatening, abusing, and torturing them overnight.
Following the incident on Thursday, a police team rushed to the spot and rescued both victims from illegal confinement.
Based on their complaint, police registered a case against the middlemen and launched a search operation. Officials said more names are emerging during the investigation.
