Thekkat Sideeque
A kidnapped Abu Dhabi businessman was in police custody last night for his own safety after a dramatic 11th-hour rescue in which three kidnappers died in a shoot-out. Thekkat Sideeque also received medical treatment for torture injuries inflicted by the gang, including cigarette burns on his body. He was freed by a police SWAT team on Sunday just minutes before the gang planned to kill him because a $1 million ransom had not been paid.

The businessman, originally from Kerala, South India, who is managing director of Seven Star International, was lured to Delhi and kidnapped by the notorious Babloo Srivastava gang on March 11. They intended to kill him at 5pm on Sunday when the ransom they demanded failed to materialise. The kidnapping, according to reports reaching here, was planned by Babloo, who is serving a life sentence in Naini Prison in Allahabad.

According to family sources in Abu Dhabi, there was no news of Sideeque until March 12, when his wife received an anonymous call saying her husband had been kidnapped. The caller demanded a $1 million ransom and set Sunday as the deadline. "They also called his parents and younger brother in Kozhikode, Kerala, for the ransom," said the family member, who asked not to be identified.

But the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi quickly alerted the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and New Delhi Police's Special Cell to prepare a rescue operation.  During the kidnapping the gangsters used a satellite telephone to maintain contact with other gang members and the victim's family. However, the Special Investigation Unit of the CBI intercepted the phone calls.

The gangsters made another crucial blunder: they allowed Sideeque to call his wife. He spoke to her in his mother tongue, Malayalam, which the kidnappers did not understand, and told her where he was being held. At 5pm on Sunday, the CBI and New Delhi Police surrounded the gangsters' hide-out. In an hour-long gunbattle three of the gang were killed.

The family members said Sideeque is now in CBI custody for his safety and will return to Abu Dhabi after initial investigations are over. "He also has to undergo medical treatment as the kidnappers tortured him to force family members to pay the ransom. They also burnt him with cigarettes."

The stage was set for the kidnapping by a series of calls concerning some business deals in India, and when the deal was ready to be signed, he left for New Delhi. Upon arrival, he was greeted by a man called Rakesh who took him to South Extension Part II of the capital. At that point Sideeque realised he was being kidnapped. On March 13 he was moved to the hide-out in Sarvpriya Vihar, where the rescue took place.

"The CBI and Delhi Police have done a great job. They saved his life at the last moment, when the kidnappers were all set to kill him after failing to receive the ransom. All praise should go to Ambassador K.C. Singh for his swift action in making good use of his office," a family member said.