Bhalotia with his daughters after his rescue. A file picture

Jamshedpur, Sept. 26: Police today arrested two persons for alleged involvement in the abduction of city-based industrialist Krishna Bhalotia.

Apart from two mobile phones and as many fake driving licenses, Rs 50,000 was also found on the arrested duo, leading the police to suspect that the money could be a part of the ransom paid for Krishna’s release.

However, East Singhbhum superintendent of police Ashish Batra said, the ransom theory can be proved only after the kingpin of the abduction gang was arrested. The Bhalotias, however, had denied paying ransom for Krishna’s release.

The abduction was apparently carried out by the Dilip Singh gang and the two arrested today — Chandan Lohar and Suman Singh — are part of the gang based in Hajipur, Bihar.

Briefing newspersons this evening, the SP said the two were nabbed from Rajendernagar, under Kankar- bag police station, in Patna. A task force of the district police and Seraikela-Kharsawan district police made the arrest.

Batra said someone in Bhalotias’ Purulia-based sponge-iron factory had tipped off the gang that the family was rich and a big ransom could be demanded by abducting one of them.

The Dilip Singh gang had gained notoriety after committing about half-a-dozen abductions in the steel city and in Ranchi, said the superintendent. Nain Mian, a resident of Daulatpur in Hajipur, is the second-in-command of the gang, while Suresh Singh, Ajay Singh, Sunil Singh and Laxman Singh comprise the gang.

Ranchi resident Laxman Singh, said Batra, had played a crucial role in abducting the industrialist.

Krishna, the eldest son of prominent industrialist Gajanand, and his driver were abducted from NH-33 near Kanderbera under Chandil police station area on the night of September 2.

The police had found him in Patna district on September 17.

The police had registered a case of abduction against unknown persons on the basis of the FIR lodged by Krishna’s driver B.R. Patel, whom the criminals had released an hour after the abduction.

The driver had hinted that Dr Deepak Bagaria of Giridih, a relative of the Bhalotias, might be behind the abduction.

After his rescue, Krishna too had claimed that Deepak was behind the abduction.

The Bhalotias and the Bagarias were involved in a legal battle over a divorce case between Nitish, Krishna’s youngest brother, and his wife Pallavi, Deepak’s daughter.