LUCKNOW A phone call about two SUVs allegedly chasing a man and a suspected kidnapping case sent Lucknow police searching for the ‘victim’. The trail, however, led investigators to a hotel in Ahmedabad, where the man was found staying comfortably and allegedly trying to escape people demanding their money back after he failed to secure them government jobs.
Another call subsequently claimed that he had been kidnapped. The breakthrough came when the North Zone surveillance team traced a suspicious mobile number to Ahmedabad. A joint team of Madiaon police and surveillance personnel travelled to Gujarat and tracked Dixit to Hotel Shrimad, located on the fourth floor of Vitthal Mall. The purported appointments allegedly covered posts in multiple government institutions and departments. As several people began calling to demand refunds, Dixit allegedly feared that the matter would be exposed.
The case came to light on October 6, when Dixit’s wife, Shipra Yadav, approached Madiaon police after he went missing. Police registered an FIR under Section 140(3) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and began investigating the alleged abduction. Investigators said he then called the emergency response number 112 and claimed that two vehicles were following him.
The man, Satya Ratna Dixit, a Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAMS) doctor, according to DCP (north) Amit K Anand, had allegedly collected money from several people by promising them government jobs and providing forged appointment letters. When pressure mounted to return the money, he allegedly staged his own abduction and left for Gujarat, police said. A man named Prakhar Pandey visited their house and claimed that Dixit had called from Hazratganj, saying two SUVs were following him, according to her complaint. Police said Dixit was found at the hotel and safely brought back to Lucknow for questioning. Police said Dixit had called Prakhar Pandey to collect an appointment letter for the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA), Amrita Rai for a post at Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences, Praveen Kumar Rai for an LDA position and a person identified as Aditya for a job in the Public Works Department (PWD).
