Scribe abducted after filing complaint against illegal constructions

A 36-year-old journalist of a small-time newspaper in Dharavi was allegedly abducted and kept in captivity for a few hours at an unknown location on Saturday by three men,said police. The victim,Gulam Waris Sheikh,is a resident of Ghanshyamdas Chawl at Dharavi and the proprietor,printer and reporter of a local newspaper in the area. A year ago,Shiekh had informed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials about the construction of some illegal buildings in the area.

“Sheikh alleged that since then,he had been receiving threats from the people responsible for the construction. They repeatedly warned him not to interfere in their work. According to Sheikh,on Saturday afternoon,he was accosted by three men,bundled into a car and taken to an unknown location. He was kept in captivity in a room for a few hours and threatened with dire consequences unless he retracted his complaint from the BMC,” said Senior Police Inspector Waman Ghadigaonkar of Shahunagar police station.

According to Sheikh,he was thrashed and verbally abused by the men. He also alleged that the trio had snatched his cellphone. Sheikh claimed to have escaped from their custody through an unlatched door. He lodged a police complaint on Monday.

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The police are now on the lookout for R N Pal (40),Sheikh Ismail Ibrahim (27) and Zuber (30) who have been named by Sheikh in his complaint.

“We are enquiring the whereabouts of the accused and investigating whether Sheikh’s complaint is genuine,” said Ghadigaonkar. However,the police have registered a case of kidnapping.