Indore (Madhya Pradesh): A cloth merchant was reportedly abducted after he left for Jaipur a couple of days ago, police said on Wednesday.

His worried wife reached the police station and lodged a complaint on Tuesday night after she received a ransom call from his mobile number. The caller reportedly demanded a ransom of Rs 3 lakh.

The merchant’s last location was traced to Rajgarh district till evening and his last location was found in Shivpuri district late on Wednessday.

However, the police were clueless about him and the caller till the filing of the report.  DCP (zone-1) Vinod Kumar Meena informed Free Press that Pawan Jain, a resident of Manushree Nagar, Chhota Bangarda area under Aerodrome police station jurisdiction, left two days ago informing family members that he was going to Jaipur on a business tour. Thereafter, his wife Aarti received a call from his mobile number.

When she picked the call, an unidentified man informed that her husband (Pawan) had been abducted. He later demanded a ransom of Rs 3 lakh for the release of her husband. He had also warned Aarti not to inform the police about the call.

After receiving a ransom call on Tuesday, the woman tried to contact that number but found the phone switched off.

A case under section 140 of BNS was registered against unidentified men and a team has been constituted to search for the accused. Meena further said that the account number which was given by the caller to Pawan's wife to transfer money is from Shivpuri and Pawan's location was also found to be Shivpuri.

The police team was in Shivpuri till the filing of the report and it was claimed that the accused would be arrested soon. Preliminary investigation revealed that Pawan was a cloth merchant and had borrowed money from some people for his business. Following business losses, he had to shut his business after the lockdown and has been running a petty business ever since. It was believed that he was abducted by the people, who had lent money to him.

However, the investigation is on into the case. Police have still not confirmed whether he was abducted from the city or from other place. The CCTVs of the area are also being examined to know his present location. Police claimed that the accused would be in the police net soon.