The Hawks have confirmed a ransom demand for Rajathi Gnanara (41), who was kidnapped outside her workplace late Friday, August 2, in Deal Party.
Hawks’ Eastern Cape spokesperson, Lieutenant-Colonel Avele Fumba, did not disclose the amount requested for Gnanara’s safe return, stating, “Due to the sensitive nature of the investigation, we cannot share more details at this time. Our main focus is on her safety.”
According to police spokesperson Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg, the incident occurred at approximately 17:45. The complainant was with his wife, Gnanara, in their vehicle on Old Grahamstown Road, Deal Party, when approximately seven armed suspects approached their vehicle.
Janse van Rensburg explained that the victim did not open her vehicle door, prompting the suspects to smash the window.
“The suspects pulled the victim from her vehicle into a silver Corolla and drove off in the direction of New Brighton,” she said.
“Thereafter, the suspects switched to a red Haval and drove off, leaving the husband behind in his vehicle.”
This is not the first string of kidnappings targeting wives in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro this year.
Earlier in March, Sonam Gajjar, the wife of a prominent businessman, was kidnapped, as previously reported by the Express.
According to police, Gajjar was forcibly shoved into a getaway car by four men who were waiting outside her home while she was preparing to go to work in the morning.
Several days later, she safely returned home after a ransom demand was paid to her abductors.
