The Madhya Pradesh-based woman who had faked her kidnapping here allegedly to raise Rs 30 lakh did so to go to Russia for medical education, police said on Wednesday.

Kavya Dhakad's confession about the motive behind her fake abduction came during the police interrogation after she and her friend Harshit were brought here from Indore on Wednesday for questioning in the case, they said.

The duo, who were missing for more than a fortnight, were traced at Indore on Tuesday by the Madhya Pradesh police who handed them over to the Rajasthan police, she added.

Kavya, a resident of Shivpuri in Madhya Pradesh, told the police that a YouTube video inspired her to hatch the kidnapping plan, the police said.

According to police, a probe was launched to trace the woman after her father Raghuveer Dhakad lodged a complaint at the Vigyan Nagar police station here on March 18 alleging that Kavya had been abducted.

During investigation, it was revealed that Kavya came to Kota on August 2, 2023 with her mother who had left after enrolling her in coaching classes and making stay arrangements in a hostel, Kota (City) SP Amrita Duhan said.

However, Kavya spent only three days here and moved to Indore where she had been living ever since with her two male friends, she said.

The woman had been sending pictures and messages to dupe her parents into believing that she was still in Rajasthan’s coaching hub, according to Kota police, Duhan said.

Recently, her parents who stay in Madhya Pradesh’s Shivpuri were shocked after receiving a ransom demand of Rs 30 lakh and pictures of their daughter with her hands and feet tied, following which Raghuveer approached the police, she said.

Upon interrogation, Kavya told the police that she thought she would be unable to crack the medical entrance exam which would upset her parents, the SP said.

Therefore, with help of Harshit, the woman fabricated the ransom story in Indore to arrange money for admission to a MBBS course in Russia. She had planned to return to India only after completing her higher education, the officer said.

Kavya and Harshit reached Jaipur on March 18 and allegedly made the ransom call of Rs 30 lakh to her parents after which they returned to Indore the next day.

The duo on March 19 left for Chandigarh from Indore and eventually reached Amritsar, where they stayed in a gurudwara. They finally returned to Indore on March 29.

As soon as the Indore police traced her location, they detained the duo on Tuesday and informed Kota police, the SP city said, adding that further probe in the matter is underway.

The police is seeking legal advice to proceed with action against the duo for faking abduction and they have meanwhile been kept in police custody, Circle Officer at Vigyan Nagar police station Satish Choudhary said.

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