Ex-sarpanch's family pays ransom for his release, police deny claim

Family members of a former village sarpanch, who was abducted by a dacoits' gang, on Tuesday claimed they paid Rs 10 lakh ransom for his release, even as the police denied it, saying that the kidnappers abandoned him following police pressure.

The gang of dacoit Bhattu Mallah had allegedly kidnapped former Pasounkhurd village sarpanch Baijnath Tyagi on June 9 and made a ransom call on June 11, demanding Rs 10 lakh for his safe release, Sabalgarh sub-divisional officer of police Devendra Singh Kushwaha told reporters here.

Later, police intensified search operation in the Chambal ravines for Tyagi, following which the dacoits headed towards Rajasthan, he claimed.

While police claimed that before moving towards Rajasthan, the gang abandoned Tyagi after which he returned to his home on his own, the family members claimed they paid Rs 10 lakh ransom for securing his safe release.

Tyagi had recently sold an agricultural land and was paid Rs 10 lakh as advance for it. The dacoit gang came to know about it and kidnapped him at gun-point when he was working in the fields.

Police are questioning Tyagi to verify the claim of ransom being paid by his family members.