2-month planning behind IAS academy director kidnap:Mastermind trained accomplice to fake death; tells Bhopal police coaching ruined him

The director of Delhi’s IAS Academy was kidnapped by miscreants in Bhopal. On Wednesday afternoon (April 29), nine accused held her hostage for four hours and forced her at gunpoint to transfer Rs 1.89 crore. Police said the mastermind was Priyank Sharma, who earlier ran a UPSC coaching centre in Bhopal. Till 2019, he attempted the UPSC exam three consecutive times but failed each time. He then planned to run a coaching centre. Having studied at an IAS academy in Delhi, he had good relations with director Shubhra Ranjan and staff. During Covid, his coaching centre shut down, causing heavy losses. To recover the money, he targeted academy director Shubhra Ranjan and planned the crime for two months. He wrote scripts for every accused, trained aide Deepak to fake his death, and held repeated rehearsals to avoid mistakes. Shubhra was then lured to Bhopal on a pretext and kidnapped. Police cracked the case on Sunday (May 3). Six accused have been arrested, while three are absconding. During questioning, Priyank said he was ruined in the coaching business. Read this report Franchise deal turned kidnap plot Accused Priyank proposed to Shubhra in Delhi that her IAS Academy had no franchise in Bhopal and offered to open one there, promising expansion and good profits. Shubhra trusted him and granted the franchise. She had also come to Bhopal for its inauguration. Just seven months later, the COVID period began and Priyank had to shut the coaching centre. He lost a large amount invested in it, and since then became obsessed with recovering the money. He believed IAS Academy was a prestigious institution and that Shubhra earned well from it. He then prepared a full plan—from kidnapping Shubhra to collecting ransom, and even wrote a script for it. He first brought his trusted aides Vicky, Deepak, and Rohit into the conspiracy. He wanted to call her to Bhopal Priyank planned everything for two months. He wanted to call Shubhra to Bhopal at any cost. He arranged for Shubhra and two other people who came with her to stay at Hotel Taj. As part of the plan, he picked them up from the hotel and took them to a flat located in Bagsewania. He had already informed his other associates about the entire plan. As a result, as soon as Shubhra and her two associates reached the flat, they were held hostage in a room. Pistols were pointed at everyone. To conceal their identities, the accused wore masks on their faces. The flat where Shubhra was held hostage had been rented two days earlier with all proper documentation. Priyank had already explained each character’s role to them. A proper rehearsal for this had also been conducted. The entire planning had been going on for two months, so that the possibility of error would be minimal. Pretended to put the body in a box Priyank taught Deepak Bhagat, acting as per the plan. A proper rehearsal for this was also conducted. When Shubhra and her companions were taken hostage, Deepak was already present in the same room. He was acting as if he was dead. As soon as Shubhra was brought into the room, Deepak was declared a corpse and locked in a box. The accused kept talking among themselves, saying that if he had listened in time, he would be alive today. Take his body somewhere in the jungle and dispose of it. The motive behind all this, by the accused, was to instill fear in the victim and her companions without any use of force. After seeing this scene, the victim got scared and transferred 1 crore 87 lakh rupees to Priyank’s two different accounts in three installments. Main accused arrested from AIIMS ICU Priyank was preparing to flee abroad after the incident. For this, he was in contact with several agents. After the complaint, the police raided his possible hideouts. His relatives were put under surveillance. Fearing arrest, he got admitted to the ICU of AIIMS hospital in Bhopal. As soon as the Crime Branch got a hint, the team reached the hospital and arrested him from the ICU itself. During this, his mother and wife protested the arrest, but the police continued the action and took him into custody. Based on the accused’s confession, the police have also arrested 5 other accused.