Six persons were arrested by the Kumbakonam Taluk police in Thanjavur district on the charge of kidnapping a lorry owner a few days ago near Kumbakonam and reportedly demanding a ransom of ₹10 lakh for his release from his wife.
The police seized a car that was allegedly used for the abduction and rescued the kidnapped lorry owner Basheer Ahmed (48) from Karakottai near Mannargudi and got the accused remanded to judicial custody.
Basheer Ahmed, a resident of Chettimandapam near Kumbakonam, was allegedly kidnapped by Sekar (45) who was involved in arranging vehicles on contract basis to transport liquor bottles to TASMAC outlets from a private liquor manufacturing unit near Mannargudi. It is said that Sekar had engaged a lorry belonging to Basheer on rent to transport liquor bottles to Ramanathapuram a year ago.
The lorry met with an accident and is said to have caused loss to Sekar. Basheer Ahmed, it is alleged, had hoarded at Nannilam some liquor bottles which did not get damaged in the accident and reportedly conveyed to Sekar that all bottles had got damaged. It is also alleged that Basheer Ahmed had resorted to illegal sale of the liquor bottles that were hoarded following which the Nannilam police based on information seized the bottles. A case against Basheer was booked by the Nannilam Police in this regard.
In the meantime, Sekar is said to have blamed Basheer for the loss caused to him in the wake of the accident and demanded money from him. Basheer refused to pay money to Sekar and allegedly threatened him. Angered over this, Sekar and five of his accomplices went to the house of Basheer Ahmed and allegedly kidnapped him in a car on April 13 and reportedly demanded a ransom of ₹10 lakh from the lorry owner's wife over phone. Acting on a complaint from Basheer Ahmed's wife, the Kumbakonam Taluk Police registered a case and arrested Sekar and his accomplices on Thursday.
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