Noida, Sept. 14 -- Two men were arrested for allegedly holding a priest hostage and demanding a ransom of Rs 1 lakh from his family after their wishes were not fulfilled following a religious ritual, police said on Monday. According to the police, the accused called the priest to Jaunpur on the pretext of conducting another ritual and allegedly confined him in a room, claiming that their wish had not been fulfilled despite the earlier religious ceremony performed by him. The accused allegedly demanded that the Rs 1 lakh spent on the ritual be returned and threatened to kill the priest if the money was not paid, police said.
An official of Sector 113 police station said a man lodged a complaint on September 9, stating that his father, Anil Tiwari, was a priest and lived in Sarfabad village.
According to the complaint, Tiwari had earlier performed a religious ritual at the residence of Jaunpur residents Ashish and Pravesh.
When their wish was not fulfilled, the two allegedly called him to Jaunpur for another ritual and held him hostage.
Police then laid a trap and asked the priest's son to call the accused to Noida to collect the ransom, officials said.
The accused brought the priest from Jaunpur to Noida, where police arrested them near Sarfabad village on Sunday night, they said.
The arrested men are residents of Masida village under the Sikrara police station area of Jaunpur district, police said, adding that a country-made pistol and a cartridge were recovered from their possession.
Further legal proceedings are underway, police said.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.