Six persons who allegedly kidnapped a photographer to recover the money they lost to him while investing in a scheme were arrested on Monday.
The police said the person in question reportedly offered ‘kalasams’ of ancient temples which, he claimed, would bring wealth to the five accused.
The police said Newton, 44, of Velayutham Colony, Virugambakkam, was a photographer in the film industry and had a studio at Thousand Lights. He recently ventured into the real estate business and started lending money at Thirumullaivoyal.
Newton did not return home on Saturday, and his father-in-law received a call from him stating that he had been kidnapped and his abductors were demanding ₹30 lakh. The shocked man passed on the information to his daughter, Kowsalya, who filed a complaint at the Virugambakkam police station.
After studying the cellphone call records, the police traced Newton to a house at Sriperumbudur. The police rescued him and arrested Sunil, 28, Dilip, 34, Vicky, 22, Sathish, 38, Gowtham, 24, and Srinivasan, 33.
During interrogation, the accused told the police that Newton claimed that he had “kalasams” of ancient temples and offered to sell them for a cheap price since he urgently needed money. He told them that the artefacts might bring good luck and they could sell these artefacts for a much higher price to antique dealers.
Believing his words, the accused paid him ₹50 lakh but the latter failed to deliver the “kalasams”. Then they decided to kidnap him and recover the money, the police added.
