- Two Jammu youths rescued from Kolkata hotel, five kidnappers arrested
Jammu, 27-03-2026: Jammu and Kashmir Police have busted a major inter-State job fraud and abduction racket and safely rescued two youths from Jammu who had allegedly been held captive in a hotel in Kolkata. Five accused have been arrested in connection with the case, while the alleged kingpin of the network remains absconding.
Addressing the media, SP Jammu South Dr Ajay Sharma said the case came to light after Jagmohan Singh lodged a complaint at Police Station Gandhi Nagar, stating that his son Maninder Singh and his associate Tushar Chib had been kidnapped in Kolkata by unknown persons. The kidnappers had allegedly demanded a ransom of Rs 35 lakh from their families for their release.
According to the police, the two youths were lured into the trap with false promises of obtaining work visas for Australia. The main accused, identified as Sunil Kejriwal of Panipat in Haryana, is said to have operated the racket through his Jammu-based agents, Pushvinder Singh and Ajay Kumar. On the pretext of arranging overseas employment, the victims were first persuaded to travel and were later taken to Kolkata, where they were allegedly confined in a hotel.
Police said the accused then began making threatening calls to the families of the victims, demanding Rs 35 lakh as ransom and warning them not to approach the police. Following the complaint, an FIR was registered at Gandhi Nagar Police Station on March 19 under relevant sections of law, after which a special police team was immediately constituted to trace the victims and nab the accused.
The operation was led by the investigating officer, Inspector Vinay Kumar, under the supervision of SDPO South and SHO Gandhi Nagar Inspector Jaipal Sharma. The team rushed to Kolkata and, with the support of Kolkata Police, successfully rescued both the youths and arrested five accused involved in the crime.
The arrested accused have been identified as Sushil, Prashant, Praveen, Vansh Manjul and Mohammad Sameer Ansari, all residents of Panipat in Haryana. They have been brought to Jammu on transit remand, and further investigation into the case is underway.
During preliminary questioning, police found that the arrested men were working under the direction of Sunil Kejriwal and another associate, Sameer, both of whom are still absconding. Police said the victims had been provided free travel tickets to Kolkata, while the accused and their agents had collected nearly Rs 34 lakh from their families on the promise of arranging foreign jobs. The amount has since been recovered by the police.
In a separate development, SP Jammu South also said that in three different theft cases registered at Police Stations Bagh-e-Bahu and Trikuta Nagar, police recovered stolen gold and silver ornaments, including 2.15 kilograms of silver and one tola of gold, with the total value estimated at around Rs 30 lakh.
The case has exposed a disturbing nexus of fake overseas job offers, financial fraud and abduction, while also highlighting the swift response of Jammu and Kashmir Police in rescuing the victims and dismantling the criminal network.