KATHMANDU: Abduction cases have, indeed, been rising alarmingly in the capital, if the recent police records are anything to go.

As per the latest figures, provided by the Metropolitan Police Range (MPC) at Hanumandhoka, as many as 28 kidnapping cases were reported during this fiscal (see box for details).

Juxtapose this with a huge number of unreported cases, where the victims’ families — the affluent are the high-risk group — did not lodge complaints for the fear of reprisal.

So, what is the motive behind abduction that seems to have spawned a cottage industry?

Prem Sagar KC, inspector, MPC, explained that easy money as ransom — at least 70 per cent of the cases corroborate this finding — had led to the kidnapping spree.

“The business community is the most vulnerable. Their solvency not only put them at a high risk but they are least likely to lodge complaints for fear of reprisal. While, the middle class is more upfront to seek the police’s help and,

at times, helps the latter to bust the rackets,” reasoned KC. Ongoing political turmoil and lax surveillance mechanism is also helping the growing menace.

“Taking advantage of the situation, businessmen and their children are being targeted with impunity. The sum of the ransom ranges between a few lakhs and Rs 10 million, depending on the victims’ families’ financial muscle,” said an official.

The police claimed that the abduction cases had come down in the current fiscal.

“For instance, four prominent industrialists and 16 traders were taken hostage last year. While, this year, the corresponding figure is a solitary industrialist and five traders,” added the official.

Last week, Nawa Raj Silwal, SP, MPR, Hanumandhoka, claimed that the police were successful to bust the kidnapping rackets.

“No criminal has been let off the hook. We’re committed to our duties and responsibilities,” he said. He dished out figures to substantiate his claims. In the last two fiscals, the police had nabbed 102 and 95 suspects. The alleged

killer of teenaged student Khyati Shrestha — the most high-profile case in recent times — too, has been held with alacrity. The police maintained that political revenge also led to several kidnapping cases.