A man was allegedly forced to donate blood and held for more than four days, where he was made to work as a domestic helper after failing to pay the first instalment for a mobile phone.
The victim, identified as Newal, reportedly had no job or regular source of income and was unable to make the first payment for a mobile phone worth about RM1,000 that he bought at the end of July.
Police arrested two employees of a private finance company on Thursday in connection with the alleged incident.
Lucknow South Deputy Commissioner of Police Mohammad Mushtaque said the suspects were identified as Aniket Singh and Sushant Sharma, while another suspect, Shubham Singh, remained at large.
He said police received a report from Newal’s mother after her son was allegedly taken from his home by several individuals on Sept 8.
“The case was registered on Sept 14 based on the victim’s mother’s complaint, following which an investigation was launched,” he told the media.
Investigators later identified the suspects as employees of a private finance company through call records and other forensic evidence.
Police found that Newal had bought the phone from a local shop using financing from a company based in the Gomti Nagar area.
The loan required him to make monthly instalments of about RM130 over one year. However, Newal, who was unemployed, failed to make the first payment.
On Sept 8, collection agents Aniket and Shubham allegedly went to Newal’s home before taking him to a blood bank.
There, Newal was allegedly forced to donate a unit of blood, with the money received from the donation later collected by the suspects.
He was then allegedly taken to Shubham’s house, where he was held for more than four days and forced to perform household chores as a domestic worker.
