Lucknow: Hariom Shiv Vanmali (30) had not imagined in his wildest dream that refusing to sell a piece of his land will cost him so dear. He was kidnapped, drugged and filmed inappropriately with a woman and then blackmailed to sell the land. However, the presence of mind shown by his wife, Rita, saved the man. She quickly contacted police, who arrested the two men behind the incident.According to the police, the sequence of events that led to the busting of the gang began on Apr 29, when a woman approached the Gosaiganj police station claiming her husband, Hari Om Vanmali, had been taken away on the pretext of a land deal and had not returned home.During the search, police traced him to a hotel, where he was found unconscious under suspicious circumstances.“A day later, the case took a dramatic turn when a woman, identified as Akansha, came to file a rape complaint at the Sushant Golf City police station, naming Hari Om as the accused. The parallel complaints raised red flags, prompting a deeper probe by the police,” said ADCP South Zone, Vasanth Rallapalli.“Both incidents were investigated very seriously. CCTV footage from the hotel showed that Hari Om was brought there in an unconscious state by four individuals,” said Rallapalli.The footage showed a black SUV which became the turning point. Investigators found that Hari Om appeared incapacitated and was not in control when he was taken inside the hotel premises. Subsequent interrogation of suspects led to a startling revelation.Police said one of the accused confessed that the entire sequence — including the alleged rape complaint — was part of a premeditated conspiracy orchestrated by property dealer Sunil Shukla. The motive, investigators said, was to force Hari Om into transferring a piece of land valued at over ₹1 crore.According to the police, Hari Om had been in talks to sell the land, but his wife had refused to go ahead with the deal. This, investigators said, prompted the accused to devise a plan to coerce the family.On Apr 28, Hari Om was allegedly lured by acquaintances from his village identified as Raju and Narendra and made to consume alcohol. Police said he was then drugged, rendering him unconscious, and taken to a hotel room. There, explicit photos and videos were allegedly recorded with the involvement of Akansha, forming the basis for a future blackmail attempt.“The plan was to threaten the victim and his family with the footage and a rape case to force the land transfer,” Rallapalli added.However, the plot began to unravel when Hari Om’s wife reported his disappearance and subsequently, he was discovered in an unconscious condition. Her prompt complaint led police to piece together the sequence of events.“During the investigation, police found incriminating photos and videos from the mobile phone of one of the accused, corroborating the conspiracy,” said police.Sunil Shukla and Akansha Pandey have been arrested, while two others — Raju and Narendra — remain absconding. Police teams are searching for the remaining suspects.
