The Kunnathunadu police on Friday arrested a man accused of being the brain behind the abduction and assault of an Ayurveda company owner demanding ransom.
The arrested was identified as S. Prakash, 41, of Tirupur. He was nabbed from his home in Tirupur by the investigation team.
Police had already arrested three accused on the day of the incident itself. The accused allegedly lured the victim to Coimbatore in the guise of a business proposition to distribute his company’s medicines in Tamil Nadu.
He was abducted in a vehicle on his arrival and was taken to a farm where he was assaulted. They then rang up his son and threatened to kill his father if a ransom of ₹42 lakh was not paid.
Vivek Kumar, District Police Chief (Ernakulam Rural), formed a special investigation team on a petition by the son. Three accused were arrested in a night operation held on the same day.
Prakash had allegedly introduced himself to the victim as a police inspector. He had gone into hiding on knowing about the arrest of his accomplices. He was eventually arrested by the team following an operation held by the police by camping in Tamil Nadu. He has cases for abduction against him in Kollam, Alathur and Thrissur police stations, police said.
A team comprising of inspector V.P. Sudheesh, assistant sub inspector A.K. Raju, senior civil police officer P.A. Abdul Manaf, civil police officers K.A. Subeer and T. A. Afsal made the arrest.
