A 22-year-old man was on Tuesday arrested in an English holiday resort in connection with the >kidnapping of a British couple of Sri Lankan origin in Chennai last month.
He was arrested in the Swanage area of Dorset in south-west England.
Police, however, declined to reveal the man’s name or nationality.
“[We] can confirm officers from the Metropolitan Police kidnap and specialist investigations unit have today arrested a 22-year-old man in the Swanage area as part of ongoing inquiries. This remains an ongoing investigation in both countries and therefore no further details are available at this time,’’ a spokesman told The Hindu .
The couple, Thavaraja (59) and Jalaja (55) who have since been rescued, were on holiday in India when they were abducted.
It is stated that they were kidnapped by a group posing as tour operators after arriving at Chennai airport on May 29. >They were later found in a village , about 170 kilometres from Chennai .
The couple, who own a shop in London, were reported to have booked holiday online to visit religious sites in India. When they landed at Chennai airport, they were greeted by two men, bearing the couple’s name, and pretending to be tour operators. They got them into a car on the pretext of taking them to their hotel.
Later, two others got into the car while another car followed them, according to the police. The men allegedly snatched the couple’s mobile phones at knife point.
Their daughter, who lives in London, reportedly received a ransom demand of £300,000 by telephone. Eight people, including a woman, were arrested.
"A gang of people operated from London as well as in the state to co-ordinate this abduction. It was a peculiar and complex case, as it involved two different cities in two countries," Chennai Police Commissioner S George said.
Scotland Yard said that the couple were “safe and well’’.
The UK's Serious Organised Crime Agency has also been involved in the investigation, providing advice and support to the Indian authorities, a SOCA spokesman said.
