A man missing from Guwahati since early August was found safe and very much working at a construction site in Arunachal Pradesh — the only problem was that he had been calling his own brother in Dubai, pretending to be a kidnapper.
The Disappearing Act That Fooled a Family
Pradeep Bhattarai vanished from Guwahati on August 2. His worried family did what any family would do — they walked into Borghat Police Station in Assam’s Tezpur and filed a missing person complaint. Days passed. No word. Then, nearly two weeks later, Bhattarai’s brother sitting all the way in Dubai started receiving deeply disturbing calls. An unknown voice on the other end claimed Pradeep had been kidnapped. The demand? Money. Transferred immediately via UPI. The calls came on August 14 and 15, and they must have shaken the family to the core.
Technology Doesn’t Lie
This is where things unravelled for Bhattarai. Technical surveillance of the calls traced their origin to the Palin township area in Kra Daadi district of Arunachal Pradesh. Kra Daadi Superintendent of Police Sepraj Perme directed the Palin Police Station, led by Sub-Inspector Kaling Pait, to act fast. A quiet recce was done around the area — and officers zeroed in on a construction site. On August 16, police raided it. There was Pradeep Bhattarai, not bound, not blindfolded, not in any danger whatsoever. He was working. As a labourer. Police also picked up one Lucky Kanta Payang from the same site.
The Story He Told Police
During interrogation, Bhattarai allegedly told police that he had travelled from Guwahati to Naharlagun by train on August 8 after learning about construction work in Kra Daadi, and subsequently reached Palin on August 10. In other words, he had planned this move well before the ransom calls. What he apparently hadn’t planned well enough was getting away with it. Police said Bhattarai used Payang’s mobile phone to make the ransom calls to his brother, disguising his voice and falsely claiming he had been kidnapped in an attempt to obtain money. It’s the kind of scheme that sounds almost unbelievable — calling your own brother from another man’s phone, putting on a fake voice, and demanding cash. Quite the act.
The Legal Fallout
The case was registered as MMR-63/2026 at Borghat Police Station in Tezpur, and following completion of the required legal formalities, both Bhattarai and Payang were handed over to a team from Borghat Police Station on August 17. The case now moves through the system. What Payang’s exact role was, and whether he was aware of the scheme, remains part of the ongoing investigation.
A Warning Worth Heeding
Police have advised the public to verify claims of kidnapping or other emergencies before transferring money in response to ransom demands. It’s advice that sounds obvious — until you’re the one receiving a panicked call at midnight claiming your brother has been taken. Fear clouds judgment. Scammers know that. And sometimes, as this case shows, the scammer is someone you trust with your heart. The real tragedy here isn’t just a failed fraud — it’s a brother in Dubai who spent days believing the worst, only to learn the worst was coming from within.
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