Four held on charge of abduction

The police have arrested four persons on charges of abducting an employee of a private firm for ransom here on Tuesday. They escorted the abducted Udayakumar to Puducherry. The arrested were identified as Syrilnathan, Mohammed Ali, Madhan and Vimaldas, all residents of Chennai.

According to police, Udayakumar (40), an employee of a private firm in Thirubhuvanai and residing at Thanthai Periyar Nagar was abducted by a gang on Monday near the Ariyankuppam Bridge.

Though it was rumoured that he was an AINRC functionary, police denied that the victim had any political connections.

Udayakumar’s brother Rajkumar lodged a complaint with the Villianur police that three persons claiming themselves to be officials of the Income Tax Department in Chennai had abducted him.

Senior Superintendent of Police (Law and Order) V.J. Chandran said that special teams were formed to trace the kidnappers.

Footage of the Closed Circuit Television Camera (CCTV) installed at the Morattandi toll gate revealed that the gang members were proceeding towards Chennai in three cars along with Udayakumar.

Car numbers traced

The police teams traced the car numbers and address of the drivers with the help of information shared by the Tamil Nadu Transport Department. They got in touch with IT officials in Chennai and learnt that no raid was conducted in Puducherry.

However, the drivers of the two cars tried to divert the attention of police by giving the impression that they were hired by the IT department. When the gang realised that the police were hot on their heels they abandoned Udayakumar near Walajabad along with his car.

A search has been launched for few more who are at large.