Police in the New Delhi satellite of Noida arrested 12 people and recovered nearly $1 million in alleged ransom money in busting what they say is the biggest kidnapping operation in north India, NDTV reports.

The arrest came 20 days after the kidnapping of a Noida-based businessman named Kapil Gupta.

Police say the same outfit that kidnapped Gupta abducted one of his associates, Saurabh Jain, on February 22.

SSP Jyoti Narayan told NDTV that Kapil Gupta had been freed by his kidnappers after they received a ransom of $1 million on September 25. But the police continued to investigate, even though Gupta's family did not file a case.

The son of Adobe India CEO Naresh Gupta, Anant, was kidnapped near his residence in Sector-15A, Noida, on November 13, 2006. Two motorcycle-borne men abducted him when he was on his way to school with a maid. In that case also, police nabbed the kidnappers and recovered the ransom.