Indore (Madhya Pradesh): In a bizarre bid to repay debt, a 20-year-old youth and his three friends were arrested for staging his own kidnapping and demanding ransom from his parents. The incident took place in Banganga area and was cracked by police within 16 hours, officials said on Thursday.

According to Additional DCP (Zone-3) Ramsanehi Mishra, the youth, Yash Rathore of Kushwah Nagar, went missing on Wednesday. His father Anand Rathore filed a police complaint claiming his son had been abducted and that a ransom of ₹3 lakh had been demanded by an unidentified caller.

Given the seriousness of the case, a special team led by Banganga police station in-charge Siyaram Singh Gurjar was formed. With help from Zone-3 cyber cell, investigators traced Yash and his associates to an isolated area near the Super Corridor service lane. They were found in a car and taken into custody.

The other three arrested were identified as Rahul Mehra, Adarsh Chakravedi, and Dharmendra Lodhi.

During questioning, Yash confessed that he was burdened by a ₹2 lakh debt due to personal expenses and poor financial decisions. He had mortgaged his car for ₹1 lakh, telling his family it was seized by the municipal corporation. To arrange money, he and his friends plotted a fake abduction. Rahul called Yash’s parents demanding ransom, while Adarsh monitored the family's movements. Dharmendra assisted in executing the plan.

Police said Rahul Mehra is a notorious criminal with 13 criminal cases registered against him in various city police stations. Yash admitted he involved Rahul in the plot due to his criminal background and experience in such matters.