CAT Advocate Kidnapped over Failed Investment Deal

 Hyderabad: Vanasthalipuram police rescued a senior advocate, P. Narayana, within 24 hours of his abduction and arrested two of the three accused, Venkatesh and Saraswathi, from Prakasam district of AP. The third accused, Ganesh, their accomplice, is on the run.

The accused were said to be distant relatives of the victim. Police said Narayana was targeted over a dispute arising from a failed land investment. He had reportedly asked the accused to invest Rsa35 lakh in a land deal but later avoided them after receiving the funds. Enraged by his silence and lack of updates, the trio kidnapped Narayana and demanded ransom from his wife.

The abduction occurred around 10 pm on Saturday near the victim’s residence in Saraswathinagar. Narayana was dragged into a car while he was parking his vehicle. Two neighbours witnessed the incident and tried to intervene but were unsuccessful. They alerted Narayana’s wife, Suvarnamma, who had missed earlier calls due to medication. Upon seeing a missed call from her husband’s number, she returned the call and was answered by Venkatesh, who issued ransom threats.

Talking to Deccan Chronicle, Suvarnamma said, “They beat my husband, gave him no water and threatened to kill us if the case continued. At one point, I considered withdrawing the case if he was returned unharmed. But he came back bruised, complaining of chest pain. We rushed him to the hospital and are now consulting a cardiologist. We will not withdraw the case. We want justice and protection.”

Vanasthalipuram ACP Kasi Reddy confirmed that the motive was established early in the investigation and CCTV footage traced the kidnappers' vehicle to Prakasam district. SHO T. Mahesh added, “Two teams tracked the suspects, located them in Prakasam and arrested Venkatesh and Saraswathi. Both were charged with kidnap and criminal intimidation and sent to judicial remand. Efforts are on to apprehend Ganesh.”