Kathmandu, June 11:

Unidentified persons kidnapped businessman Pawan Agrawal from Mahabouddha and set him free half-an-hour later this evening, police said.

Police said Agrawal, who runs a electric appliance shop at Taleji Arcade at Mahabouddha, was kidnapped by a group of three persons at around 4:45 pm today.

“The kidnappers took away Agrawal, 23, in a cab from Mahabouddha and finally released at Bagbazaar,” police said.

Agrawal, after being released, said that he was taken in a taxi around Tundikhel to Bagbazaar from where he was freed. “They didn’t ask for ransom nor did they misbehave with me. When one of the kidnappers received a mobile call, they set me free,” he said.

Uma Chaturbedi, inspector at the Metropolitan Police Sector, Janasewa, said Young Communist League (YCL) cadres had taken Agrawal in connection with a dispute over the originality of the VAT bill.

“They released him as per the YCL high command order saying they would talk on the issue tomorrow,” he said.