The City Police have arrested three persons of a gang of six and rescued two persons who were held captive. The gang had demanded ransom of Rs. 20 lakh. A manhunt has been launched for the three other gang members.
Talking to reporters, City Police Commissioner A.K. Viswanathan and Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime and Traffic) T. Senthil Kumar said two persons who had earlier worked as agents for Fine Future, a finance firm, were abducted by the gang for ransom.
According to Mr.Viswanathan, Murthy (31) of Annur and ‘Sirumugai’ Selvaraj (34) worked for the firm, till complaints of fraud by the investors came to light. The two had come to a shopping mall on Brooke Bond Road on Thursday.
Accused ‘Gundu’ Saravanan (35) of Pattanam Pudur, N. Murugan (44) of Saravanampatty and V. Peter alias Manuvendran (32) of Pillayarpuram along with other accused Srinivasan, Anburaj and ‘Olli’ Saravanan came in a hired cab and abducted the two at knife-point around 5 p.m.
Mudiappan, a relative of the kidnapped persons, preferred a complaint with the R.S. Puram police stating that the abductors had demanded a ransom of Rs. 20 lakh initially but had reduced the amount subsequently.
Special teams led by Assistant Commissioner of Police K. Ramachandran (Crime – East) launched a search for the two which kept the entire city police force on their toes till late into the night. The gang first held the victims captive at Pollachi and then brought them to Puliakulam area in the city.
The kidnappers were asked to come to Lakshmi Mills Junction late in the night to collect the ransom. Police overpowered two persons who came on a motorcycle to collect the ransom. Based on the confession of the two, police teams surrounded a house at Ammankulam-Puliakulam area and rescued the two hostages. One other member of the gang was also arrested.
The police have intensified the search for the other members of the kidnap gang Srinivasan, Anburaj and Saravanan.
Saravanan was already involved in a case of double murder under the Race Course Police limits and in murder cases in Ramanathapuram and Sulur besides being involved in robbery of Rs 13 lakh in Kattoor police limits.
Mr.Viswanathan appreciated the efforts of the special teams for the meticulous planning and action that helped crack the case within five to six hours without any harm to the hostages.
