2 Held For Kidnapping Driver In Chennai, Hunt On For 3 Others

The city police arrested two men for posing as officers of the anti-vice squad (AVS) and kidnapping a driver from Korattur on Wednesday night. The driver was rescued early on Thursday and a hunt is on for three other accused.

The kidnapping came to light after the police control room received a call from a man who identified himself as Ramesh, a resident of Tirunelveli, and wanted to inform the police that his driver Gnanasekar had been kidnapped along with a car by men claiming to be anti-vice squad officers. Ramesh added that the abductors had demanded a random Rs 2 lakh.

Since the car had a GPS device, Ramesh was able to share the location of the car with the police. It was tracked to an area close to MKB Nagar police station so the information was passed on to them and a team of officers rushed to the spot.

When the abductors realised that police had arrived, they tried to flee. Two were caught while three others managed to escape.

Since the kidnapping took place near a private hospital on the 100-ft road in Korattur, the accused were handed over to the Korattur police.

Those arrested have been identified as P Prabu (32) and R Udayakumar (32) of Vyasarpadi, while  Wapah (65), Babu (40) and Solomon (37) are on the run.

During interrogation, Ganansekar revealed that his employer Ramesh was running a flesh trade and Ganansekar's job was to drop off customers to different hotels where Ramesh would send women. The police suspect that Wapah — who Ramesh is familiar with — is his rival in the business. Wapah apparently planned the kidnapping to rob Ramesh.

While a hunt has been launched for the accused, Ramesh who is in Tirunelveli has also been summoned for an inquiry since the incident has exposed his illegal business. Further investigation is underway.