The city police on Thursday arrested a gang of nine for allegedly kidnapping two Chennai-based realtors in Bengaluru on August 21.
They allegedly forced the duo to accompany them at gunpoint. Among those arrested is a rowdy from Ballari and his wife.
The realtors were kidnapped late on Sunday night. The duo — Muthu Kumar and Madan Kumar — were returning from a party in a chauffeur-driven BMW when the gang leader Nagraj intercepted their vehicle at Hebbal.
His associates beat up the driver Manikantan.
They dragged Manikantan outside the car and drove away in the vehicle with the two realtors to a house in Rajarajeshwari Nagar, which belongs to one of the gangsters.
They allegedly beat up the realtors and forced them to call their family and friends with demands to transfer Rs. 9 lakh to different accounts.
Meanwhile, Manikantan reported the incident to the police, who managed to track down the suspects to Rajarajeshwari Nagar on Wednesday. On reaching the spot, they found Nagraj armed with a gun. Before he could open fire, the police team overpowered him and his associates. The two realtors are safe. The police recovered two revolvers, live ammunition and the BMW car from the gang.
The police also arrested Sangeetha (38), wife of Nagraj, as she had withdrawn the ransom amount from a bank in Ballari as soon as the money had been transferred.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northeast) P.S. Harsha said that Nagraj used to visit pubs and star hotels looking for people who came in high-end cars and spent lavishly. Once he identified a target, his gang members would trail the person waiting for a suitable opportunity to abduct him. They would demand a ransom for release of the victim.
