A retired Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer and former Audit Commissioner in the GST Department was allegedly abducted over a financial dispute and confined at a guest house in Visakhapatnam late Friday night. The police rescued him within a few hours and arrested 10 persons, while another accused remains absconding.

The victim, P. Anand Kumar, was travelling by car from Sai Priya Resort at Rushikonda towards the airport on October 16, when unidentified persons intercepted his vehicle in the IT-SEZ area, forcibly shifted him into another car and abducted him.

The P.M. Palem police registered a case and launched an investigation. Special teams led by P.M. Palem Circle Inspector Balakrishna and Arilova CI Srinivas examined CCTV footage and analysed mobile phone location data, which helped them trace the accused in a guest house at Visalakshi Nagar.

The police found Mr. Anand Kumar confined at the premises and safely rescued him. Ten accused persons present there were apprehended and subsequently produced before the court.

According to the police investigation, the abduction stemmed from financial transactions between the victim and two accused persons. The prime accused, Hemanth Kumar, allegedly enlisted the assistance of Kollu Sridhar, who arranged a group to execute the abduction.

The accused allegedly contacted the victim’s wife and demanded immediate payment of money, threatening to kill him if their demand was not met.