Berhampur (Odisha), Mar 5 (PTI) The Odisha Police on Wednesday arrested seven more people for their alleged involvement in the kidnapping of four employees of a private financial company and demanding Rs 2 crore ransom for their release in January.

The arrested persons were identified as Nutun Kumar Patra (42), Sagar Prasad Sahu (22), Rabindra Mohanty (41), Danda Moharana (41), T Ganesh Rao (32), Kartik Behera (31) and K Sunil Rao (30), all residents of Ganjam district, a police officer said.

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Three cars allegedly used in committing the crime, 15 mobile phones, four of which belong to the victims, and Rs 2,000 in cash were seized from the accused persons, Berhampur Additional Superintendent of Police Sima Swain said.

Police had on January 27 arrested three persons and rescued the kidnapped persons who were allegedly confined in a house in a forest area near Chikiti in Ganjam district.

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One of the accused, identified as Rajesh Gouda, allegedly escaped from police custody near Gangapur on Tuesday while he was being taken by the police to Bhanjanagar area to seize a vehicle used in committing the crime, another police officer said.

A case has been registered with Bhanjanagar police station and a manhunt launched to nab Gouda, the officer said.

K Nuagaon police station inspector-in-charge Kishore Kumar Samal said the accused persons had hatched a criminal conspiracy and invited the victims to Berhampur for field verification of one of their projects on the pretext of seeking finance for the project.

Responding to their invitation, the victims reached Berhampur on January 23. Soon after their arrival, the accused allegedly took them in two vehicles and wrongfully confined them in a building and demanded a ransom of Rs 2 crore from their family members, threatening to kill them if the amount was not paid, the officer said, adding they also allegedly assaulted the kidnapped persons.

One of the victims escaped from the place and informed the police on January 26. Police rescued them from the house. The accused persons were arrested during the investigation.

(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)