Meerut: Debt-strapped pharmacist takes hostages, arrested

According to the Superintendent of Police Keshav Kumar, Dr SP Singh and Dr Usha Singh — a couple who run a dispensary at Mawana Road in Meerut faced an unusual situation when their pharmacist Tapraj took hostage of their two daughters and demanded a ransom. Tapraj had been working at the clinic for the last five years.

Meerut: A debt-strapped pharmacist on Wednesday night, took hostage of girls and demanded Rs. 5 lakh at Ganganagar in Meerut.

According to the Superintendent of Police Keshav Kumar, Dr SP Singh and Dr Usha Singh — a couple who run a dispensary at Mawana Road in Meerut faced an unusual situation when their pharmacist Tapraj took hostage of their two daughters and demanded a ransom. Tapraj had been working at the clinic for the last five years.

At around 9 pm on Wednesday, Tapraj went to the terrace on the pretext of checking the water in the tank and he took the girls hostages. At knifepoint, the girls of the doctors were taken to a bathroom in the building. He further asked the girls to call their father and ask for the key to a vault, the police said.

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Police said the man threatened to kill the girls if the doctor failed to pay him. The girls were also injured during a struggle with the man.

Police brought the girls to safety after breaking the doors of the room and arrested Tapraj.

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In a subsequent police interrogation, officials said he 'confessed' to his crime and said he told them that he demanded money "to pay for his ill mother's treatment and to pay off debts."

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A case was filed against Tapraj and he later was remanded to jail, SP said.