Jamshedpur, Dec. 14 :    Jamshedpur, Dec. 14:  Leading Dhanbad industrialist Ashok Jalan was kidnapped early this morning from the Dhanbad-Bhuli-Hirak road by a gang of unidentified armed men. The 57-year-old industrialist and managing director of Dhanbad-based Hindustan Malleables Limited was on his way to the factory from home. According to the officer in-charge of the Bhuli police station, Jalan left home for office around 8 am in his chauffeur-driven Fiat Sienna. When the vehicle reached the CD Singh Colony, some unidentified men aboard a blue Armada jeep, overtook it from behind at a lonely spot, parked their vehicle across the road and forced Jalan's driver to stop. 'They then brandished a carbine and three sophisticated revolvers and forced Jalan to accompany them. The driver of Jalan's vehicle was slapped and warned not to follow the miscreants. They also took away the keys of Jalan's car before leaving the spot,' said Akhilesh Kumar, an inspector from Bank More police circle. 'The blue Armada was following us as soon as we left Jalan's house near Luby Circular Road. But they came very near to our vehicle when we reached the CD Singh colony. I had an apprehension that they were following us and as such gave them a pass to go ahead. Hardly had we gone a kilometre when the Armada screeched to a halt and five men brandishing weapons came out. They came straight to the driver's seat and snatched the car's keys. Then they opened the door and forced Jalan out,' Jalan's driver, Khalil, said in his written statement to the Bhuli police station. The incident has sent a wave of fear among the business community of the coal belt which had earlier witnessed many incidents of assault on leading businessmen by anti-social elements in Dhanbad and Bokaro. Two years back, another leading businessman, Raj Kumar Jain, was kidnapped for ransom. 'We cannot say whether he has been kidnapped for ransom since there has been no contact from the kidnappers yet. But, the modus operandi indicates it to be the handiwork of a well-organised gang of criminals who had been kidnapping leading businessmen for ransom in other parts of Jharkhand and Bihar,'' Dhanbad superintendent of police Abdul Gani Mir told The Telegraph. Soon after the incident, members of Jalan's family, including son Chandrakant, met the SP after which the borders of the district were sealed. Vehicles leaving the district are being frisked. 'We have launched massive combing operations and have also rounded up anti-social elements to dig out any clues which could lead to the recovery of Jalan,'' Mir said. The panic-stricken family is yet to overcome the shock. Jalan's wife was unable to speak when contacted over this afternoon. One of his family members, J.P. Agarwalla, who spoke to The Telegraph, said they suspect no one. 'He had no animosity with anybody so there is no question for his being kidnapped for revenge. He has basically nothing to do with even local politics being an introvert person. We apprehend that it is the handiwork of professional kidnappers. But then, the kidnappers are yet to establish contact with us in any way,'' Agarwalla said. Since the place of occurrence is not quite far from the Jharkhand-West Bengal border, the police did not rule out the possibility of the kidnappers taking the Bengal route. 'The blue Armada had a West Bengal registration plate. After executing the crime they would have got enough time to cross the border to West Bengal. But then, this may just be one of the possibilities since there are no clues or eye witnesses to confirm their route,'' the circle inspector of Bank More pointed out. The officer, however, ruled out the possibility of the hand of any of the ultra-Left organisations like the Maoist Communist Centre or the CPI(ML) behind the incident. 'According to the driver of Jalan's vehicle, the gangsters were wearing good clothes and were in the age-group of 22 to 25 years. They also had a good Hindi accent,'' he said.