Four-lane project officer abducted over ₹50,000 payment row in Chhatarpur:₹50 lakh demanded; accused takes ₹10 lakh before police rescue

A case of kidnapping and ransom involving a field officer of MKC Company, which is constructing the Sagar-Kanpur four-lane road in Chhatarpur, has come to light. The accused allegedly demanded a ransom of ₹50 lakh and did not release the officer even after ₹10 lakh was transferred to their bank accounts. Police later rescued the officer after conducting a late-night search operation in the forest on Wednesday. MKC Company project manager Sanjay Sodhi lodged a complaint with police stating that the company’s field officer, Ramkhiladi Sharma, a resident of Morena, was abducted on Wednesday afternoon by Bhan Singh Yadav, Vishal Yadav and another associate. According to the complaint, the accused first assaulted Sharma and then demanded ₹50 lakh as ransom. Under pressure, the company transferred ₹10 lakh to the accused persons’ bank accounts, but they still refused to release him. CCTV footage of the incident has also surfaced, showing the accused allegedly waiting for the officer before abducting him. Searching in the forest all night Soon after receiving the complaint, police registered a case of kidnapping and ransom and launched a search operation. Based on technical evidence, location tracking and questioning of relatives and friends, police carried out a combing operation in the forests of the Satai police station area. Late at night, police safely rescued Ramkhiladi Sharma from the forest. However, the main accused managed to escape taking advantage of the darkness and hilly terrain. Bank Account Frozen Police are currently questioning one person based on suspicion. Cases have been registered against the two main accused, Bhan Singh Yadav and Vishal Yadav. Police also immediately froze the bank account into which the ₹10 lakh ransom amount had been transferred to prevent the money from being withdrawn. Dispute Was Related to Soil Supply Preliminary investigation revealed that the dispute began over payments related to soil supply for the four-lane road construction project. The accused allegedly supplied soil to the company and claimed they suffered a loss of ₹50,000 in the work. In the name of compensation, they allegedly tried to extort ₹50 lakh from the field officer. ₹5 Lakh Transferred Twice Ramkhiladi Sharma’s nephew Sachin Sharma said his uncle was kidnapped around noon on May 13 and was found in the forests of the Satai area around 5 am on Thursday. He said that while family members were sitting at the Kotwali police station around 5:26 am, Ramkhiladi called another relative, Bhagirath Sharma, asking them to arrange ₹10 lakh. According to the family, ₹5 lakh each was transferred in two installments to the bank accounts of Ankit Yadav and Vishal Yadav. PCC Chief Targets Government Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Jitu Patwari criticised the incident and questioned the law-and-order situation in the state. He said, “The Chhatarpur case is shocking. Reports are coming that ₹10 lakh was deposited into the kidnappers’ bank accounts. What message does this send? This is a police system that catches gold and sells it, catches hawala money and distributes it among themselves. Now money is being transferred directly into kidnappers’ accounts — this means the entire system has collapsed.”