Vadodara: After being booked for allegedly kidnapping and extorting a resident of Bharuch, a police constable has been suspended, and a departmental inquiry has been initiated against him. The accused, Havaldar Yagnik Chavda, currently posted at Vadodara Central Jail, was suspended after being named in an FIR related to the case.

The case was filed six days ago against four individuals, including two police personnel. Among them, Chavda and his accomplice Aftab Pathan were arrested, while another accused policeman, KD Prajapati, has been on the run since.

According to the police, the victim, Afaan Kaani, was abducted on November 12 after he reached Vadodara with a woman he had met through Instagram, identified as Misbah Munshi. She had asked him to accompany her to MS University, and Kaani travelled to the city in a rented car. While the two were returning, three men intercepted the vehicle and forcibly entered it. After a short distance, one of the men got down with the woman, while the remaining two, posing as SOG officers, took Kaani to Ahmedabad.

The accused allegedly threatened to frame him in a false case and demanded ₹4 lakh for his release. Fearing arrest, Kaani arranged the money through his brother. The accused then allegedly demanded an additional ₹1 lakh to return his mobile phone. After securing his release, Kaani approached Vadodara police and filed a complaint.

It is learnt that sources in the central jail revealed that both Chavda and Prajapati previously had several verbal complaints lodged against them. DeshGujarat