Lankan businessman abducted in Chennai rescued

A Sri Lanka-based businessman, kidnapped by a gang of six, including a woman, over a financial transaction, was rescued by city police in Chennai after they received a distress call from the abducted man’s daughter who lives in Sri Lanka, Times of India reported yesterday (17)

On Wednesday, the Chennai city police control room received a distress call from one Archana Hussain in Sri Lanka, claiming her father Mohammad Shyam was kidnapped while on a business visit to Chennai.

She said the abductors called her from her kidnapped father’s mobile phone and demanded 15 lakh as ransom to release him. Believing their words, she already remitted 95,000, Archana Hussain told police.

Treating it as a complaint, the North Beach police registered a kidnap case.

A team led by Harbour assistant commissioner of Police T Veerakumar then started tracking the suspects and the victim Mohammad Shyam’s mobile phone signal. The team traced the suspects to a hideout in Mannadi and rescued Shyam.

They then arrested K Chitra, 43, and Riyaz Askar, 47, both from Anna Nagar West, G Velmurugan, 41, and K Dinesh, 31, of West KK Nagar.

Inquiries revealed that Shyam had borrowed five lakhs from Chitra and didn’t repay it. Chitra tracked Shyam’s movements and engaged her friends to abduct him to extract the money from him.

The arrested abductors kidnapped Shyam after he vacated his hotel room on November 11.They detained him at a house in Virugambakkam and threatened that he would not be freed unless the money was paid up. As he didn’t have money with him, the abductors called his daughter in Sri Lanka and demanded the money.

“The team is searching for two more suspects involved in the crime,” said an officer. The four arrested will be remanded in judicial custody after being produced before a magistrate court on Friday.