Panaji/Bengaluru, April 24 : Goa Police arrested the main accused in a high-profile abduction and robbery case involving Rs 3 lakh, following sustained technical surveillance.

The accused, identified as 53-year-old Nilesh Bhimrao Jadhav, a resident of Akola in Maharashtra, was traced to Davangere in Karnataka and apprehended while attempting to travel towards Bengaluru, said the official statement.

According to police, the case was registered at Maina Curtorim Police Station under Crime No. 21/2026 on April 1, 2026, under Sections 205 (impersonating a public servant), 140(3) (kidnapping or abducting someone specifically to wrongfully and secretly confine them), 351(3) (criminal intimidation), 308(5) (extortion), 309(4) read with 3(5) (robbery) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. The complaint was filed by Ashok Kumar (56), a resident of Borda, Fatorda in Goa.

The complainant alleged that on March 24, 2026, at around 2:30 P.M., he was abducted by a group of individuals, including Nilesh Jadhav, Balram Shetty, Ajit Kumar Kattimani, and others, from outside Canara Bank at Macazana in Salcete, Goa. The accused allegedly forced him into his own Hyundai Venue car and drove him to an isolated location in Karwar, Karnataka.

Police said the accused threatened the victim with dire consequences, including death, and extorted money. They also allegedly robbed him of â?¹3 lakh.

During the investigation, one of the accused, Ajit Kumar Kattimani, a resident of Aquem, Margao and originally from Bidar district in Karnataka, had earlier been arrested and later released on bail.

On Friday, acting on technical inputs, police tracked the location of the main accused to Davangere. Investigators revealed that Jadhav had impersonated an Enforcement Directorate (ED) officer during the commission of the crime.

A special police team was formed and dispatched to Karnataka, where Jadhav was successfully apprehended. He was subsequently brought to Goa and produced before the Judicial Magistrate First Class Court in Margao, which remanded him to six days of police custody.

Police said further investigation is underway under the supervision of senior officers.

/IANS