Sri Lankan man on business trip kidnapped in Chennai

A 50-year-old Sri Lankan citizen who had gone to India for business purposes has been kidnapped by a gang in Chennai, Indian media reported.

The Indian police have rescued him and arrested four people including a woman in connection with the incident.

The kidnappers were identified as K. Chitra (43) and Riyaz Askhar (47) of Anna Nagar West, and G. Velmurugan (41) and K. Dinesh (31) of West Kalaignar Karunanithi Nagar.

The abductee, named Mohammed Shyam, had arrived in India from Sri Lanka a few days ago and had been staying at Parry’s Corner in Mannady in the northern part of Chennai.

The control room of Chennai city police got a complaint from a woman who introduced herself as Shyam’s daughter. She told the police that she had received a call on Wednesday (Nov.15) from a person who claimed to have kidnapped her father and demanded a ransom of INR 1.5 million for his release.

On Thursday (Nov.16), the B1 North Beach Police Station had tracked down the phone number from which the ransom call was made, and rescued Shyam while arresting the four suspects.

Chitra, whom Shyam owed money, and her boyfriend and other accomplices had kidnapped the Sri Lankan man in a car, according to the police.

-with inputs from agencies