Kalyan: A 22-year-old Nashik youth allegedly lured to Jaipur on the pretext of a cryptocurrency deal linked to online gaming and then abducted has been rescued by a joint team of the Kalyan Government Railway Police (GRP) and Mumbai Crime Branch in Rajasthan. Two accused, identified as Naveen and Mangala, have been arrested and handed over to Jaipur’s Pratap Nagar police for further investigation.
Father And Girlfriend Threatened
The accused allegedly demanded Rs 15 lakh from the victim’s father and another Rs 7 lakh from his girlfriend threatening to kill him if the ransom was not paid. When the father expressed his inability to arrange the money the kidnappers allegedly asked him to sell gold to meet their demand.
The victim identified as Neel Khetia, was reportedly addicted to online gaming and needed USDT a cryptocurrency-linked digital token to purchase in-game features. According to the information available a friend from Gujarat told him that USDT generally trading at around Rs 97 to Rs 97.50, could be obtained for Rs 96.50. Attracted by the prospect of making a profit of 50 paise to Re 1 per unit, Khetia began contacting online sellers.
Youth Allegedly Lured To Jaipur
However a deal that appeared profitable allegedly turned into a kidnapping trap. The suspects reportedly called him to Jaipur to complete the transaction and abducted him after he arrived. On October 12 Khetia had set out for Rajasthan after meeting his girlfriend. When his family lost contact with him, they began searching for him and eventually lodged a complaint with the Kalyan GRP.
Following information about the ransom demand, senior GRP officials were alerted. Investigators subsequently learnt that the accused had taken the victim to Haryana. The cyber team tracked their location, enabling the joint police operation to secure Khetia’s release and apprehend the two suspects.
The case has raised suspicions of a wider network exploiting online gaming and cryptocurrency transactions to target victims, although the alleged involvement of others is yet to be established.
Senior Police Inspector Archana Dusane of Kalyan Railway Police Station said Mangala has a murder case registered against him in Rajasthan and was released on bail around six months ago. She added that the case had been transferred to Rajasthan police with Jaipur’s Pratap Nagar police now conducting further investigations.
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