Navi Mumbai: Three employees of a private fiber optic company were brutally assaulted and kidnapped from Rabale by their former employer since they left the job for a higher pay.

The victims identified as Mohammad Parvez Imtiyaz Sheikh (29), Khushnoor Alam Mohammad (30), and Mohammad Sajjad Abdul Gaffar (36), were hired by Bhushan Patil (37), who was the team leader of the company. The hired workers were given accommodation at Ghansoli.

The incident happened on Wednesday. Patil, the team leader, received a call from one of the accused identified as Ashraf Shaikh. Shaikh argued with Patil citing that their company was facing losses because of PAtil who lured his workers into his firm with higher pay. After the call, Shaikh along with Wasim Fazal, Santosh Survyanshi, and an unidentified person, entered the accommodation of the victims and started assaulting them with leather belts.

The accused then abducted the three victims and took them in a car to aarey colony and dumped him there. The victims managed to seek help and were admitted to Jijamata hospital in Airoli. Later, a case was filed under sections 333 (house trespass), 137(2) (kidnapping), 115(2) (voluntary hurt), 351(2) (criminal intimidation), and 3(5) (crime by multiple persons) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) against the four accused.

“The accused had business rivalry and attacked their previous employees as they left the job which caused losses. The accused are absconding and we are looking for them,” a police officer from Rabale police station said.