IAS academy director kidnapped in Bhopal:Taken from outside hotel, held hostage in flat, ₹2 crore extorted

Criminals in Bhopal kidnapped the director of an IAS coaching academy and held her hostage for 18 hours. During this time, they threatened her at gunpoint and forced her to transfer nearly ₹1.89 crore online. The main accused was preparing to flee abroad but was arrested at AIIMS. According to information, the person behind the crime was not an outsider but a young man who ran a franchise of the same institute. He is the son of a retired BHEL officer and had earlier lived in Delhi, where he prepared for the UPSC through IAS coaching. The director stayed at a reputed hotel Director Shubhra Ranjan said the accused called her to Bhopal on the pretext of opening a second branch and inspecting a location. She had travelled from Delhi and was staying at a well-known Taj hotel in the city. Two days before the incident, the accused Priyank Sharma took her from outside the hotel. He then took her to a flat in the Bagsewania area and held her captive. She was kept there for nearly two days. Criminals called from Datia to collect the ransom Police Commissioner Sanjay Singh said Priyank was already running a franchise of the IAS academy and knew the director had access to money. He planned the entire crime and called his associates from Datia and Kalapipal. Threatened to kill her Priyank, along with his associates, kept the director hostage in the flat and threatened to kill her. A country-made pistol was held to her head. In exchange for sparing her life, around ₹1.87 crore was transferred in multiple transactions to different accounts. Religious recital used to cover noise The Police Commissioner said that on the day of the incident, a religious recital was organised in the flat to suppress any noise, so that if the victim raised an alarm, her voice would not be heard outside. She was held in a room for more than 18 hours and was released on Tuesday night. Police have frozen all the accounts where the money was transferred to keep the amount safe. The main accused was arrested from the AIIMS ICU After the crime, Priyank was preparing to escape abroad and had contacted several agents. Once the complaint was received, police raided his possible hideouts and started monitoring his relatives. Fearing arrest, he got himself admitted to the ICU of AIIMS hospital. As soon as the crime branch got information, the team reached the hospital and arrested him from the ICU. His mother and wife opposed the arrest, but police continued the action and took him into custody. Based on his inputs, five more accused have been arrested. Know the accused and their roles Priyank Sharma: Mastermind
Priyank Sharma, son of Vishnu Sharma, is a resident of Ayodhya Bypass, Bhopal. He is a BA graduate and runs a coaching centre. He had earlier prepared for the UPSC. He planned and executed the entire crime. Deepak Bhagat: Driver and close aide
Deepak Bhagat, a resident of Bagsewania, studied till Class 8. He drove Priyank’s car and handled his personal work. When caught, he pretended to be dead, but was soon exposed and arrested. Rohit: Cleaner turned accused
Rohit, son of Jagannath, is from Kalapipal. He studied till Class 8 and worked as a cleaner at Priyank’s institute. During the crime, he was present in the flat with other accused, carrying a mask and weapons. Vikas: Key associate
Vikas alias Vicky Dahiya studied till Class 8 and works in marketing. He remained actively involved with Priyank throughout the incident and played an important role. Kunal Yadav: Labourer lured with money
Kunal Yadav, from Datia, studied till Class 8 and works as a labourer. He was called by Vicky and was promised ₹5 lakh for taking part in the crime. Pankaj Ahirwar: Part of the conspiracy
Pankaj Ahirwar, from Datia, studied till Class 5. He was also brought in by Vicky to be part of the crime. Absconding accused
Ramji alias Nihal Prajapati and Ramu alias Rameshwar alias Shiv are still absconding. They were also lured with ₹5 lakh each to join the crime. Police teams are searching for them.