THOOTHUKUDI: The kidnappers of the son of a DMK corporation councillor here on August 17 were looking to make a quick buck, said Thoothukudi Superintendent of Police (SP) Narendran Nair on Sunday.During a press meet here, Nair said six of a gang have been arrested in connection with the kidnap of four-and-a-half year old Vishal Umesh while he was on his way to school in a car driven by K V K Nagar resident G Balakaruppasamy (26), one of the arrested. Umesh is the son of Rajkumar, proprietor of a shipping company, and Flower Rajkumar, DMK councillor of Ward No 16 of the Thoothukudi Corporation and film producer.After the kidnap, one of the arrested had called Flower from the driver’s mobile and demanded a ransom of `5 crore to set her son free. Rajkumar immediately lodged a complaint with the Thoothukudi South Police Station.Subsequently, special teams were formed to rescue the boy. Around 8 pm on August 18, Umesh and Balakaruppasamy were ‘set free’ by the kidnappers.The SP said further investigations revealed that Balakaruppasamy was also involved in the kidnap. In fact, he along with his aides Mariappan alias Ashok (26) of Krishnarajapuram, T Mahesh (26) of Nallamalai near Pudukkottai, M Lakshmikanthan (24) of Srivaikundam, M Jeganathan alias Jegan (25) of Krishnarajapuram and S Murugesh (28) of Bryant Nagar 11th Street had planned the kidnap.Nair said the kidnap was well planned. Mariappan, Lakshmikanthan and Mahesh intercepted the car at Annai Illam on the Millerpuram Cemetery Road. After pointing a knife at Balakaruppasamy, they asked him to drive the car to a different location. The car stopped near an isolated house at Muthukumar Nagar near Kathirvelnagar and the boy was taken inside. Leaving the boy there, Balakaruppasamy and Mariappan drove the car to Tiruchendur and abandoned it near a temple to confuse the police. Later Mahesh called up Vishal’s mother and demanded `5 crore as ransom. After seeking police help, the parents agreed to pay the ransom. They came with 35 per cent of the ransom amount to the Pudukkottai Bridge area — the location that Mahesh chose for taking ransom — the same night. At the same time, police were making arrangements to nab the accused.But the abductors were not to give in that quickly. Sensing that they were being watched, the gang changed their decision.Perceiving that the gang had kept the boy in captivity within the Thoothukudi limits, the special teams intensified their search and blocked all escape routes. Umesh’s parents were again summoned by Mahesh the next day. This time the location was near the Madurai airport. On the way, they got a phone call from Mahesh saying that they had set the driver and Umesh free at Meelavittan Road on the outskirts of the city.Police interrogation with Balakaruppasamy revealed that he along with his friends had kidnapped the boy. Later, Mahesh, Mariappan and Lakshmikanthan were arrested near Ammankoil at Nallamalai on August 20. Jeganathan and Murugesan, who kept the group informed about police movements, were arrested on August 21. Police also seized three knives, three mobile phones and three motorcycles from them. Nair said `5 crore demanded by the kidnappers where the highest ransom sought in the Southern part of the State so far. He lauded Additional Superintendent of Police Sonal Chandra, Deputy Superintendent of Police (Rural) Jeyakumar, Srivaikundam DSP Stephen Jesubatham, Police Inspectors Annaraj, Veemaraj, Balamurugan and Jeyaprakash for their swift action that led to the arrest of all the six kidnappers. Nair also asked the public to be cautious while appointing drivers for their vehicles and said the police department was ready to help them to verify the authenticity of the drivers if needed.
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