Bhubaneswar, May 25: Deepak Swami, a city businessman who was allegedly abducted at gunpoint on Tuesday and freed yesterday, today demanded police protection apprehending threat to his life. The 46-year-old also accused one of his business rivals of being involved in the abduction.

"They forced me inside the vehicle and switched off my mobile phone and then threw it away. I was taken to Athagarh via Nandankanan Road in a white vehicle. Later, they took me to Ranapur near Khurda. They demanded a ransom of Rs 20 lakh to release me," he alleged.

Swami alleged that the kidnappers were in constant contact with another person, who, he said, was calling the shots. "Later, the kidnappers had a heated argument with the person over phone and the kidnappers snapped telephonic communication. Finally, they dropped me near Khurda," he said.

Demanding a probe into the incident, he said: "The kidnappers pressured me into signing some papers and blank cheques. When I refused to abide, they threatened to kill me. I strongly suspect the involvement of a business rival, with whom I had a dispute, in the incident. The matter is pending before the court," Swain alleged, without divulging any other details about the dispute.

However, Swami's incoherent statements have raised doubts among the police about the whole episode. "While recording his statement, Swami told us that the kidnappers had offered him Rs 300 to hire an auto-rickshaw to take him home before dropping him off near Khurda. He hired an auto-rickshaw with that money to reach his house. There is some mismatch in his statements. We will record his statement again," said a police officer. The police had registered a case on the basis of a complaint lodged by Swami's wife. "However, what strikes us as strange is that the family members did not inform us when he returned home. We came to know about his release from our local sources after a few hours," said the officer.

Investigations into the case has also revealed that Swami has a loan of more than Rs 1 crore. They suspect that the trader was kidnapped for not paying up the loans that he had taken from a few people for his business. Swami started dealing in tiles in 2011. He had set up two tile-manufacturing factories in Cuttack and Balasore.

Police commissioner Y.B. Khurania said the investigation in the case was going on. "We are investigating all possible angles in the case and the real picture will come out after we complete the investigation," he said.