Lucknow: Four former students of a private university in Lucknow were arrested for allegedly abducting two hotel management students and coercing them into transferring ₹20,000 through UPI during captivity, police said on Tuesday.Investigators said the accused and the victims knew each other and were allegedly linked through money borrowed from individuals associated with former students working in real estate. The dispute reportedly erupted over repayment of the borrowed amount, leading the accused to allegedly kidnap the two youths to recover the dues.The victims were identified as Nirbhay Verma, 21, and Abhishek Verma, 21. Police said they were abducted in the BBD police station area and taken to an undisclosed location, where they were confined. During the confinement, the accused allegedly forced them to transfer ₹20,000 via UPI and later contacted their family members.The case came to light after Nirbhay’s uncle, Ram Suresh Chaudhary, a resident of Basti district, approached BBD police station and reported that his nephew and his friend had been abducted. Police registered an FIR and formed multiple teams to trace the victims. The accused were identified as Abhay Chaudhary of Basti, Navneet Tiwari alias Golu of Pratapgarh, Piyush Raj of Mau and Aryan Singh of Gorakhpur. Police said all four were living in rented accommodation in Chinhat and confessed to their crime during interrogation.
