One kidnapper (covered with blanket), injured in police encounter, in S.C.B. Medical College and Hospital on Saturday. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, Jan. 29: One of the four kidnappers of Pramod Kumar Sahoo, the establishment officer of Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT), was injured following an encounter on the city outskirts late on Friday night.

Sahoo was abducted from the Infocity area while taking a morning walk yesterday. Tribals of Daspalla forests in Nayagarh district rescued Sahoo from the forests six hours later. The kidnappers had demanded a ransom of Rs 5 crore from Sahoo’s family.

According to sources, the encounter took place near Janla. Pahali Behera (35), one of the kidnappers was brought to Bhubaneswar from Daspalla.

The kidnapper had tried to escape after pretending to help police recover some money. However, instead of doing that he had attacked the cops, who in return, fired and injured him in the leg.

Pahali was rushed to the S.C.B. Medical College and Hospital. The other kidnappers were identified as Rabi Swain from Nayagarh, Mohan Sethi from Aska and Kalia Sahoo from Bhubaneswar. Kalia was arrested from Bhubaneswar last evening. The others were arrested from Daspalla area. Police seized a country-made pistol, four daggers, some money, a gold chain and a ring from the accused.

Police commissioner B.K. Sharma said Sahoo’s kidnapping was well planned by the gang. The search for other members was on.

Sharma said two persons followed the KIIT executive after he had left his house for a morning stroll.

Two persons, standing near an Indica car in which two others were sitting, accosted him near Infocity. They pushed him into the waiting car and sped away.

Though he shouted for help there was no one nearby to hear his cries. “After kidnapping me, they fled towards Patia and as I struggled for freedom they gagged me,” said Sahoo.

They told the executive that they had kidnapped him for money and asked for his residence number. He instead gave them the number of KIIT development officer Bimal Jena. The kidnappers called Jena from Sahoo’s mobile at around 7.50am and made him speak to the former.

The kidnappers made him speak to Jena and then themselves took the phone and demanded money from the development officer for releasing the executive. Later, they called up his family and demanded Rs 5 crore as ransom.

Sahoo said that while two of the kidnappers were talking in Oriya, two others were speaking Hindi. They reached the Jhuntabadia village in Daspalla, nearly 110km from Bhubaneswar, around noon. Then he had to walk along with them around 300 metres in the forest.

They kept him in a cottage in the forest with his mouth gagged. When villagers turned inquisitive, the kidnappers tried to fob them off saying that he taken some money from them and they wanted it back. However, the villagers got suspicious and called the police. When the villagers gathered in large numbers, the driver fled with the vehicle and others also made an attempt. However, while two were overpowered on the spot, another was caught from a neighbouring village.

Later the Daspalla police handed over the three to the Bhubaneaswar police team which had by the time reached the spot.