The Perumanallur police arrested a gang of five members, including a woman, for allegedly robbing two men of gold chain and cash and trying to extort money from them near Avinashi in Tiruppur district on Thursday.
Police said that the complainant, Natarayan (56), owned a power loom unit in Vellakoil. His relative Kumar received a call from Kavitha aka Vennila (26), who invited them for a business deal involving purchase of bedsheets in bulk. Due to persistent calls, Natarayan and Kumar obliged and visited Kavitha’s residence in Perumanallur on Tuesday.
The woman, along with four other men, locked the two inside a room. They stole Natarayan’s gold chain worth around ₹ 60,000 and Kumar’s smart phone and cash worth ₹ 3,000. Following this, the gang forced the two men to strip down to their underwear and made them stand next to the woman for a photograph. They gang demanded ₹ 3 lakh from the two, failing which the they threatened to upload the pictures on social media platforms, the police said.
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The two men were locked for four hours in the house. After being allowed to leave around 11 p.m., Natarayan lodged a complaint at the Perumanallur police station. The police registered a case under Sections 342 (Wrongful confinement), 385 (Putting person in fear of injury in order to commit extortion), 397 (Robbery or dacoity, with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt) and 34 (Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.
On Thursday, the police arrested Kavitha along with Isakkipandi (30), Isakkimuthu (27), Jebaraj (24) and Chinnadurai (29). Investigations revealed that the accused had similar cases against them in Tirunelveli district and the woman was from Karnataka. The police also seized weapons from the residence where the incident took place. The five accused were remanded in judicial custody on Thursday.