Mumbai: Three men have been arrested for allegedly abducting a scrap dealer from Sion here for a ransom of Rs 31 lakh, police said.

However, police claimed they have indications that the 65-year-old businessman might have been killed and buried in Malshej ghat in Pune district for not receiving the amount.

On Thursday, Mumbai Police crime branch has arrested three accused - Vishal Dugade (29), Abid Mahable (36), Mithun Pillai (36) - from Jodhpur in Rajasthan, who had allegedly abducted Swaminarayan Satwani on June 3, police said.

Two days after Satwani went missing on June 3, his wife had received a call from the kidnappers demanding Rs 31 lakh for the release her husband and threatened that he would be killed if the money is not paid to them, police added.

Through the investigation, police came to know that the caller was in Jodhpur. The victim's family headed to Jodhpur and registered a kidnapping case at the police station there.

As the victim was kidnapped from Mumbai, the Rajasthan police started a joint probe along with the Mumbai crime branch, police said.

The crime branch nabbed the trio, but was unable to find the victim and one more accused identified as Anwar Siddhique.

“With the information that Satwani's body might have been buried in Malshej in Pune, a police team has been dispatched there,” police said.