/>

UK court convicts 2 in city kidnap case

A UK couple was waylaid and kidnapped from Chennai airport on May 29, last year

Updated - June 07, 2016 04:27 am IST - CHENNAI:

A UK court has convicted the masterminds behind last year’s abduction of two UK citizens in Chennai.

According to a press release, last Wednesday, the Croydon Crown Court, United Kingdom, convicted Ajanthan and Ramesh Sornalingam, who plotted the abduction of Kanapathipillai Thavarajah and his wife Salajah, and sentenced them to jail terms of nine and seven-and-a-half years, respectively.

Thavarajah and Salajah, residents of Edgware in London, were waylaid and kidnapped from Chennai airport on May 29, last year. The kidnappers had demanded a hefty ransom for their release.

The Chennai city police rescued them from Mandharakuppam in Neyveli, Cuddalore district, in three days’ time. A total of 13 persons were arrested in connection with the case.

On information from the Chennai police, the kidnap and special crime unit of Scotland Yard registered a case of conspiracy against Ajanthan and Sornalingam.

The two, who worked in Thavarajah’s firm in the UK, had orchestrated the abduction with the help of their associates, Kannan, Sathya, Indira and others. Coordination between the Chennai police and Scotland Yard led to the arrest of the two men in the UK.

In February 2014, the UK police met city police commissioner S. George seeking evidence in connection with the involvement of Ajanthan and Sornalingam in the abduction. Documentary evidence, photographs, email conversations and call data records were provided.

Evidence collected from the Chennai police helped to get Ajanthan and Sornalingam convicted. “Scotland Yard and the UK court judge congratulated the city police for cooperating and helping with the case,” said a senior police officer.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.