Vadodara: An IIM graduate from the city, who was kidnapped and held captive in a Navi Mumbai apartment for nearly a month in a ₹12 crore ransom plot, was rescued on March 18 in a joint operation by Vadodara and Navi Mumbai police.

The police rescued 32-year-old Nikhil Parmar, the owner of a private fund management firm, and arrested three individuals, including a woman, while the alleged mastermind, his former live-in partner Priti Sinha, remains at large.

Nikhil and Priti were in a four-year relationship before separating last year. Priti, along with her associate Kapil Rajput, allegedly plotted to extort ₹12 crore from Nikhil’s father, Rajnikant Parmar. The kidnappers collected ₹1.5 crore but continued demanding more, refusing to let Rajnikant see his son, which forced him to seek police help.

Priti and Rajput, who ran a finance business, enlisted Girish Bholey and Madhumita Potdar for the abduction. They falsely told Nikhil that multiple FIRs had been filed against him and threatened to frame him in a rape case. The gang forced him to call his father for ransom, leading to two payments—₹70 lakh on February 28 and ₹80 lakh on March 5. Despite paying ₹1.5 crore, Rajnikant was denied access to his son, and the kidnappers demanded an additional ₹10.50 crore. After receiving two more ransom calls on March 13 and 16, Rajnikant confided in Nikhil’s friend, Ankit Patel, who urged him to contact the police.

On March 18, Bholey was arrested while collecting more money, leading police to the Navi Mumbai flat, where Nikhil was found hidden behind a washing machine. Authorities are continuing their investigation to apprehend the remaining accused and uncover further details of the extortion racket. DeshGujarat