ROURKELA: A youth was reportedly kidnapped from near Bisra square here and beaten up for failing to pay the money lost in gambling. He was kept hostage for several hours and released by the kidnappers after his family made part-payment of the amount.
The incident came to light on Friday after a video clip of the youth being beaten up with his hands tied with plastic ropes, became viral on social media. The victim youth was identified as Ganesh Sahu of Bisra block in Sundargarh district.
Sources said Sahu was standing at a roadside kiosk near Bisra square on Thursday evening. Some miscreants abducted him in a car and took him to Sorda area of Nuagaon block. The kidnappers tied his hands and kept him hostage in a room. Sahu was beaten up and threatened of being run over by the car if he did not agree to pay the money.
On being informed, Sahu’s family members rushed to Sorda and rescued him after making part-payment of the amount with the promise to paying the rest soon.The kidnappers were reportedly anti-socials who used to run gambling rackets in different pockets of Bisra block. The victim participated in gambling but kept on losing. He got so addicted that he sold off his motorcycle but still owed a debt of around Rs 2 lakh.
Unable to pay the huge amount, Sahu had gone underground for nearly 10 days till he was spotted by the kidnappers at Bisra square.Deputy SP AK Pradhan said no complaint has been received from the victim so far. After verifying the video clip, police would take appropriate action, he added.