The phone calls made by the alleged kidnappers of a seven-year-old boy, Naswin, helped the police trace the accused.
The police arrested five persons, including the neighbours of Naswin, grandchild of Arimbur panchayat president P.A. Antony and son of a real estate businessman Titto, from a rented house near Athani on Thursday night.
The arrested were Karipadath Prasad, 24, of Manakkody; Jose Paul, 21, of Kulangara; Vishu Kunnath, 20; Ajith, 20, of Adur; and Aneesh, 24, of Kollam. Though the accused tried to misguide the police by making calls from various places, the police managed to trace them.
Naswin, first standard student of St. Theresa’s School, Eravu, was kidnapped when he was returning from school three days ago. The accused had demanded Rs.50 lakh as ransom for releasing him.
Naswin’s parents sought help of the Chief Minister, who was here on Thursday in connection with the inauguration of the renovated stadiums.
The Chief Minister directed the police to intensify the search. The city police also joined the rural police in the search operations.
Lure of money
The accused planned to kidnap the child after they came to know about a Rs.2-crore loan sanctioned to Mr. Titto for starting a rice mill. It is said that they wanted money to repay a loan taken by Prasad, one of the suspects.
Wore masks
The police traced Prasad first. Jose Paul and Vishnu were later arrested from their house at Arimbur.
The rest were taken into custody by the police along with the child from a house at Athani. They wore masks to hide their identity from the child. The police recovered a toy gun, knives, and masks from the suspects.
Five arrested in connection with the case
Neighbours part of the gang
