In a shocking case from Lucknow, a man has alleged that he was abducted by recovery agents of a private bank as he could not pay mobile phone instalment.
The recovery agents forced him to give blood and held him captive in a house for several days, where he was forced to work.
The man, identified as Naval, had purchased a Samsung mobile phone worth Rs 21,500 from a shop about a year ago under a zero-down-payment arrangement. His monthly instalment was fixed at Rs 2,799 for 12 months.
His family has claimed that when the first instalment was due after the purchase, people from the shop came and took back the phone. On September 8, two men returned to their home and took Naval with them.
Naval accused the men of taking him to a blood bank in Lucknow, where one unit of blood was extracted. He was then taken to the house, kept captive and forced to perform labour for several days.
The accused contacted Naval’s elder brother, Rajkumar, and demanded Rs 2,799 through an online payment for as the mobile instalment. When the family pleaded for Naval’s release, they demanded another Rs 12,000.
The family further claimed that they were threatened with dire consequences, including a threat to kill Naval and throw him into the Gomti River if the money was not paid.
Fearing for his safety, the family approached the police and filed a complaint. Five days later, following police intervention, Naval was brought home in a Rapido cab, with his brother allegedly having to pay the fare.
The family said that when they sought police action against those involved, they were threatened and told that Naval could also be implicated if they pursued the matter. Only after Naval’s mother approached a senior officer over the police inaction, a case was registered on Monday and a probe is now currently underway to locate the accused.
