UP: Abducted at SP Lok Sabha member's house, man rescued within hours, 4 nabbed

Four people were arrested in connection with the alleged abduction of a man whose complaint against Samajwadi Party MP Laxmikant, alias Pappu Nishad, led to a Prevention of Atrocity case against him, police said on Monday.

Laxmikant was elected to the Parliament from Sant Kabir Nagar Lok Sabha constituency in 2024 on an SP ticket.

Man rescued within 24 hours

Superintendent of Police Sandeep Kumar Meena said the victim, Vishal Kumar, was rescued within 24 hours of abduction, which took place at Laxmikant's residence.

"Vishal was called by Ashok Yadav to the MP's residence on the pretext that the MP's personal assistants, Dharmendra Yadav and Jitendra Yadav, wanted to discuss something with him," the SP said.

After Vishal reached the MP's house, his mobile phone was switched off, following which his brother Om Prakash Yadav lodged a complaint at Bakhira Police Station on Sunday, Meena said.

The police registered a case under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and launched a search for Vishal, the officer said.

Acting on a tip-off, at around 2.30 am on Monday, a police team intercepted a car near the Kante police outpost in Khalilabad and rescued Vishal, he said.

Four people travelling in the car were arrested, the SP said.

Four accused arrested in rescue operation

The car occupants were identified as Vishwketu Yadav, Ashok Yadav and Dharmendra Yadav, the MP's personal assistant, all residents of the Bakhira police Station area, and Jitendra Yadav from Basti district.

According to the SP, Vishwketu told police that Vishal had named him and Laxmikant in an SC/ST Act case arising from a row over the immersion of a Ganesh idol.

He revealed that they took Vishal to the MP's residence and made him sign documents before a notary, Meena said.

The abductors planned to take Vishal to Ayodhya and kill him, but they were intercepted on the way, the SP said.

Meena announced a cash reward of Rs 25,000 for the police team involved in the rescue operation.

Abduction case follows Ganesh idol immersion row

On the evening of September 18, a row erupted when the police stopped a DJ being played during an idol immersion procession. The MP's vehicle got caught in the commotion and its window was allegedly damaged after stones were thrown at it.

Nishad lodged a complaint against unidentified persons over damage to his car.

Vishal, a local, in his counter-complaint, alleged that the MP's car hit him and threw on the ground, and when he objected, Vishwketu Yadav, a zila panchayat member, hurled caste-based abuses at him and gave him death threats.