Patna: A senior government official in Bihar had a miraculous escape from his kidnappers after they lost control of the vehicle, NDTV reported.
Uday Kumar Ujjwal, programme coordinator with the state education department, was kidnapped by six men and driven around for two hours, demanding ransom for release.
Ujjwal was travelling from Hajipur to his home in Patna on Saturday night when the incident occurred.
The car was on Hajipur-Chhapra highway near Sonepur when the six men obstructed the road with bikes.
They beat the official up, before driving away with him.
The FIR says the kidnappers demanded a ransom of ₹ 5 crore to release him.
They drove him around and asked him for his ATM card's PIN to withdraw money from his account.
The official was grappling with the horror when the kidnapper at the wheel lost control and drove into a drain.
The official did not wait to think before taking advantage of the opportunity to escape.
Saran police chief Gaurav Mangla said police swiftly responded to the incident, arriving at the scene.
‘The kidnapped person has been rescued and his vehicle recovered. We are trying to identify the criminals and arrest them. We are investigating all angles,’ he said.
‘He is a senior education department official here. We joined Sonepur police in the operation. The FIR says the kidnappers took some money from the official and were asking for his ATM card's PIN before he managed to escape. He was rescued within two hours of the incident,’ Vaishali's Subdivisional Police Officer Om Prakash reportedly said.