Briefing the media, Kolkata Commissioner of Police Gautam Mohan Chakraborty said the Rs 20 lakh was paid as ransom by Gupta’s family has been recovered during the operation.

“The gang, which we suspect was involved in at least three kidnappings prior to the Gupta case, had a unique modus operandi. They would target men, using a young woman as bait,” he added.

In Gupta’s case too, the gang brought a call girl, Shaheen Pathan alias Pooja, from Delhi. She was told to befriend Gupta.

On March 9, Gupta and Pooja decided to meet.

After drinks and dinner, they took a taxi and proceeded towards Salt Lake. On the way, several members of the gang waylaid the taxi in a car and abducted Gupta who was already drugged, Chakraborty said.

“After kidnapping him too, the gang members kept him sedated. On March 19, a letter arrived at the Gupta residence informing the family of the abduction. There was a local prepaid mobile SIM card enclosed. The letter was in Hindi, but written in the Latin script and instructed the family to call a Gujarat mobile number using the included SIM card. Accordingly, the family contacted the kidnappers, on which they were asked to pay up Rs 1 crore. The family then got in touch with us,” Chakraborty said.

But the police was hampered by the lack of any lead in the case.

After negotiations between the abductors and the family, Rs 20 lakh was agreed on as the ransom amount. On March 25, the family was instructed to take the money in a locked suitcase to a hotel on Central Avenue, where they were to hand it over.

Following the handover, on March 26 around 3 am, Gupta was taken on a motorcycle near Sodepur railway station. He was given Rs 100 and asked to take a train home.

Once Gupta was back safe, police moved into action and raided several locations in North 24 Parganas including the residence of Sanjay Singh, one of three gang leaders.

While Singh was not available, the police detained his wife Preeti Singh alias Pinky and recovered the ransom money and Gujarat SIM card from an almirah. “The gang didn’t have the time to divide the cash. Besides Singh, Pinky and Shailendra Singh alias Tinku were the main force. The team also included a youth who was taking an MBA degree. We’re searching for Singh and the woman contact who collected the ransom. The average age of most gang members is 23 and this gang has been operating for around three years. They were involved in at least two cases in 2007, in which women were used as bait. Both Singh and Tinku have a history in crime,” the CP added.