NEW DELHI: Four days after a 21-year-old second year student of a prestigious college in Bangalore was abducted for a Rs 10 lakh ransom, a joint team of Delhi crime branch and Karnataka police have rescued the girl and arrested a businessman for the sensational crime which had had the latter on their toes.

“The businessman, Sujoy Dey, had lured the woman to Delhi and made a call to her father to shell out the ransom amount. He is a class XII pass-out and helps his father in the business of garment manufacturing. A team led by DCP Kumar Gyanesh traced his location and arrested him. The woman has been safely rescued,” Ravindra Yadav, additional CP, Crime said.

The Karnataka police team had arrived in Delhi on Sunday after tracking the mobile number used by the accused to make the ransom call. A team led by inspector Sushil Kumar traced the exact location of the accused in Mahipalpur and conducted raids at many places in the vicinity. Finally, the cops used local intelligence and nabbed the accused from the guest house in the area.

The girl told police that around six months back, she had received a missed call on her mobile phone. When she called back, Sujoy answered the phone and expressed his wish to be friends with her. He smooth-talked her into friendship and lured her using his luxury cars and expensive gadgets. He also developed physical relations with her on pretext of marriage.

“Meanwhile, her family found a groom for her and fixed the marriage for April. When she told the accused that she did not want to marry the man, Sujoy Dey convinced her to elope with him. However, he was asked her to steal cash and jewellery from her house On February 20, Sujoy reached Bangalore airport and the two flew to Delhi. The girl had also bought Rs 3 lakh in cash and gold jewellery from her father’s safe,” DCP Crime, Kumar Gyanesh, said adding that they checked into the hotel in Mahipalpur.

The accused told police that he thought that he could not manage in the meager sum she had stolen so he stepped out of the guest house and called up her father posing as an underworld don.

However, the worried father approached the police which then registered a case under sections of abduction and began investigations. Further investigation is being conducted by the Karnataka police.

The cops are probing if the accused lured other girls in similar manner and that if he was involved in human trafficking. Sections of sexual assault may be added if the medical examination of the woman confirms rape, police said. The girl will be handed over to the family after being produced before the magistrate.