The Nuzvid police have arrested former Guntur East MLA Mohammad Mustafa and his son Mubashir, alias Bashir, on kidnap and extortion charges.

While Mr. Mubashir (A-1) was intercepted and arrested by the police at the Hyderabad airport upon his arrival on Tuesday, Mr. Mustafa had been traced and arrested at Vadodara in Gujarat late on Monday night. The police produced the former MLA before a court in Vadodara, secured a transit warrant, and brought him back to Nuzvid. Mr. Mubashir would be produced before the local magistrate court on Wednesday, the police said.

According to the police, a case had been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) covering kidnapping for ransom, abduction, criminal intimidation, and physical assault. Charges were also invoked under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act as the complainant belonged to a SC community.

The case stemmed from a financial dispute involving tobacco trading. On July 27, the complainant, Suryahandra, a tobacco broker, along with his son, driver, and assistant, was transporting tobacco products when the accused allegedly intercepted their vehicle near Nuzvid.

Investigation revealed that Mr. Mustafa, along with Mr. Mubashir and other associates, allegedly forcibly abducted, assaulted, and deprived the victims of their property before unlawfully detaining them at a tobacco godown located at Pedakakani village, the police said.

Following an emergency call to ‘112’ and subsequent verification of facts, the police teams launched a rescue operation. On July 28, five persons were arrested and the victims rescued from the godown. Both the primary accused, Mustafa (A-2) and his son Mubashir (A-1), had gone absconding soon after the incident, the police said. Further investigation was underway, the police added.

Published - August 04, 2026 08:58 pm IST