Key accused in realtor’s abduction arrested

VADODARA: Halol police nabbed two aides of slain gangster Mukesh Harjani near the Rinki Chowkdi. The duo Pankaj Arya and Gurpreetsingh Bajwa – both residents of Vadodara – were involved in the abduction of a realtor near Padra in December last year.
Sixty five-year-old Chatur Dudhat, who also owns a restaurant, was abducted by around 15 persons from his farmhouse in Sokdha Khurd village near Padra.He was later released at Lamdapura village of Savli taluka. Dudhat said that Chintan Shah and Arya, whom he knew since long had kidnapped him from his farmhouse in Padra. While Shah was arrested earlier, Arya and Bajwa were on the run.
The police got a tip off that Arya and Bajwa were present at an isolated spot near the Rinki Chowkdi and may be eyeing to commit a major crime. A police team led by Halol circle police inspector D N Chudasama nabbed the accused from the spot. A country-made pistol, four live cartridges and a knife were recovered from the accused.
Shah and Arya were allegedly planning to murder notorious criminal Aslam Bodiyo. The duo had told Dudhat about this plan who in turn revealed this to a confidante of Bodiyo. When Bodiyo learnt about the plan, he called Shah and Arya and threatened them. Angered over the threat, the duo told Dudhat that he leaked their plan to Bodiyo and tried to extort Rs 35 lakh from him.