New details have indicated that an Indian chef who had been missing for over two months was smuggled into Uganda on a private jet where he was disguised as one of the crew
Kumesh Menaria is said to have been kidnapped from Switzerland by his employer, Pankaj Oswal whom he had worked for since 2007 and ended up in Uganda and later Tanzania under unknown circumstances.
Acting Interpol director, Joseph Obwona said on Monday that they received a call on September, 13 from their Swiss counterparts asking them to check for Menaria at the headquarters of PRO industrials on the first floor of Mariba Building, Plot 19 Golf Course Road off Wampeewo Avenue or any other property owned by Pankaj.
Menaria’s son had reported to Swiss police that his dad’s phone had been switched off for longer than usual and suspected something wrong had happened.
When Ugandan police went to the said address in Kololo, they didn’t find anything.
“On the evening of September, 30, 2024, police visited the suspected place in Luweero in the company of the victim’s son but could not conduct a search since it was late in the night and they returned on October, 1, conducted the search but failed to rescue Kumesh Menaria,” Obwona said.
Police later got to know that the victim had been smuggled out of Uganda and taken to Tanzania where the agents of his employer, Pankaj alleged that he had been involved in a case related to theft.
He was consequently detained at Kyaka Police Station in Northern Tanzania.
Meanwhile Uganda Police at the Mutukula border got information of Menaria’s detention and worked with their Tanzanian counterparts, leading to his release on bond before he was returned to Kampala.
“He has since been brought back to Uganda as a victim of crime,” Obwona said.
He explained that before the incident, Menaria had requested his employer to allow him go visit his relatives in India and that the request was denied.
“There was a breakdown in communication between Menaria and his boss. He had asked his boss to allow him go to India to see his family but the boss refused,” Obwona said.
He noted the victim informed Swiss Police about the matter and that when they authorities started investigating the matter, Pankaj put him on a private jet up to Uganda.
“They transferred him to Uganda before police would interface with the victim. I think they did it to pre-empt police intervention in Switzerland. He is suspected to have been brought to Uganda together with the Oswal( Pankaj) family on a private plane and declared as part of the plane’s crew,” Obwona said.
He said the Criminal Investigations Directorate has since taken up the matter and three people including Ritah Ngabire, Kumar Rohit and Vasundra Oswal have since been arrested and charged with kidnap with intent to murder .
They have been released on bail by the Luweero chief magistrates court
The acting Interpol director said efforts are ongoing with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Uganda and the diplomatic missions to work on the modality of repatriating Menaria to a country of his choice.
Earlier, Oswal Pankaj, Menaria’s employer asked the president to intervene, alleging that blackmailers demanded ransom, leading to the arrest of his daughter, Basundhara Oswal, and their lawyer, Rita Ngabire.
These two had however been arraigned in court over the kidnap of Menaria and have since been granted bail.
