Hyderabad, Feb 8 (PTI) A seven-member gang, which allegedly kidnapped a businessman here by impersonating as income tax (I-T) officials and extorted Rs 30 lakh for his release, was arrested on Wednesday, police said.

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The prime accused, who was brother–in-law of the victim, turned out to be the mastermind behind the kidnapping, the police said.

On February 4, the complainant approached the police and stated that he was kidnapped by five unknown persons on January 27 from Ameerpet while he was going home. The accused made him to sit in a car claiming that they are I-T officials and took him to Batasingaram.

The kidnappers then called up the businessman's wife and demanded Rs 60 lakh. The woman arranged Rs 30 lakh and handed it over to the prime accused after which the other accused released her husband on Outer Ring Road.

Based on the complaint, police booked a case and formed four teams.

Investigation revealed that brother-in-law of the complainant hatched the plan along with his cousin to kidnap the businessman for ransom and contacted the other accused.

While the accused were moving in the same car at Musheerabad, the police, acting on a tip-off, arrested them and seized Rs 15,04,500 in cash. Besides the car, a bike and seven cellphones were also seized from the possession of the gang.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)