A man abducted his father-in-law because he wanted his wife, who had left him, to return home, sources in the Delhi police said on Thursday.

Baldev Raj Sethi, a retired Delhi University professor, was abducted near his house in Tilak Nagar in west Delhi on Monday, the sources said.

Sethi's family soon received a call from his son-in-law Manoj Patel, a businessman in Gujarat, who said he had carried out the abducted

Patel first demanded Rs 10 lakh as ransom. Later, he said he would release Sethi if his daughter, Archana, returned to him.

Archana had married Patel more than a year ago but had come back to her father's house following marital discord and filed for divorce.

Sethi's family have lodged a complaint of harassment against Patel and a police team has gone to Gujarat to locate him, the sources said.