False alarm: Ex-Maharashtra minister’s son in kidnapping scare, flight to Bangkok turned back

Shiv Sena MLA Tanaji Sawant's son was reported missing, triggering a police search.

PUNE/MUMBAI: A chartered flight from Pune to Bangkok was asked to turn back as Shiv Sena MLA and former minister Tanaji Sawant claimed his son Rushiraj, 32, had been abducted on Monday. As it turned out, Sawant had raised an alarm apparently because he was very worried – his son had left home without letting his family know of the impending trip.

File Photo: Ex-Maharashtra minister Tanaji Sawant (middle)

“We speak 10 to 15 times a day. He left Pune without telling us,’’ said Sawant, a minister of state in the earlier Devendra Fadnavis ministry and health minister in the Eknath Shinde ministry. “We often convey to our family members where we are going. I was worried because he went without informing anyone in our family.”

The false alarm, which had pressed various arms of the state machinery into action, was triggered by a phone call from an unidentified caller about Rushiraj’s alleged kidnapping. It appeared that Rushiraj, a trustee of the Jayawant Shikshan Prasarak Mandal (JSPM) and TSSM Group, had left home in the morning for Bangkok with two friends without letting his family know of his whereabouts.

The phone call was received by the Pune police control room at around 4pm. Police contacted the family, who said their son had been missing since morning. Sinhgad police filed a case of kidnapping and deployed multiple teams at different locations to search for Rushiraj, with the Crime Branch taking over the investigation.

When police learnt that Rushiraj had boarded a chartered flight for Bangkok, they got in touch with the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and managed to get the flight to return to Pune at around 10pm.

“Rushiraj has returned to Pune. We will now ask him what exactly happened and why they were going to Bangkok without informing anyone at home,” said Ranjan Kumar, Joint Commissioner of Police. Officials were questioning Rushiraj till late on Monday night. Asked why police were so quick to file a case when it was not clear that Rushiraj had been kidnapped, Kumar said, “We had to register a complaint to initiate an investigation.”

Pune police commissioner Amitesh Kumar told Hindustan Times , “The aircraft was flying between Chennai and Port Blair and was still in Indian airspace when we were contacted. The aircraft has come back to Pune and further investigations are underway.”

While police had launched a manhunt for Rushiraj, his father had driven to the Pune Police Commissionerate, from where he made several phone calls, including one to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, promoting police to quickly file an FIR with sections relating to kidnapping invoked. As soon as Sawant was told by his driver that he had dropped Rushiraj to the airport with two persons, he informed the police.

Asked if there had been a quarrel at home, prompting his son to leave for Bangkok, Sawant flatly denied it. “There was no dispute. Just that he left home without informing anyone and we were all worried. Why and where was he going will now be found out,” said Sawant, who represents Paranda constituency in Osmanabad district of Marathwada.

“He had returned from Dubai only last week, so the sudden trip raised concern. Maybe he didn’t tell me because he thought I might get upset. We will get to know more after talking to him,” Sawant added.

Shiv Sena (UBT) deputy leader Sushma Andhare remarked, “If the information on the abduction is true, it exposes the poor performance of the police in the state. When I first heard about the abduction, I thought that if this could happen to a former minister’s son, what about us? But, later, I heard through the media that there was a scripted game of kidnapping to get Rushiraj Sawant back to Pune. It is shocking to see a former minister misuse power to get his son back. In this case, police rolled out the red carpet for Tanaji Sawant.’’