Oil Mill owner kidnapped

ANANTAPUR: Sending shockwaves among the business community, an oil mill owner was kidnapped by some unidentified miscreants from Dharmavaram town in the district on Tuesday night.The kidnappers demanded a ransom of Rs 1 crore to release him and threatened to kill him if the demand was not met. They even warned his parents against approaching the police or press.Balaji Setty (32), who runs Srinivasa Oil Mills in Dharmavaram owns about 4.5 acres open land adjacent to the mill, the market value of which runs into several crores. It is learnt that some people approached Balaji to sell the land at a throw away price. But, he refused to sell it. It is learnt that four unidentified persons came to the mill on Tuesday night and took Balaji in a van.Later, the abductors made a phone call to Balaji’s father Krishnamurthy and demanded `1 crore ransom for letting off his son whom they had kidnapped. Again on Tuesday morning, the kidnappers called Krishnamurthy and reiterated their demand.Fearing for the life of their son, Balaji’s parents did not approach the police.‘’We have not received any formal complaint from Balaji’s parents so far. But, we have taken the case suo motu and formed special teams to rescue Balaji,’’ said Dharmavaram DSP Nawab Jhan.