In a shocking case of kidnapping for ransom, Priyank Sharma, a failed UPSC aspirant, plotted to extort ₹1.89 crore (approximately $228,000 USD) from Shubra Ranjan, the director of a UPSC coaching center. After his own coaching center shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sharma devised a plan to recover his financial losses. He contacted Ranjan in Delhi, presenting a seemingly legitimate business proposal that lured her to Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India.

Once in Bhopal, Sharma and his associates executed a meticulously planned kidnapping. They rented a flat in the Bagsewaniya area and staged a fake murder scene involving an accomplice who pretended to be dead. Over four hours, Ranjan and her associates were threatened at gunpoint and coerced into transferring funds into two accounts. The police acted swiftly upon receiving a complaint, freezing the accounts and securing the extorted money. Sharma attempted to flee and even admitted himself to a hospital to evade arrest but was apprehended by police after confirmation of his fitness for custody. Investigations are ongoing to uncover the full extent of the conspiracy and the network involved.