2 arrested for kidnapping online share trader; 6 others on the run

CHENNAI: Police on Tuesday arrested two persons for allegedly kidnapping a man, running a stock trading firm and forcefully got his signatures on a bond paper for defaulting on returning the investment.

The arrested persons were identified as M Ramagurunathan (34) of Tirunelveli and Satish Kumar (30) of Chennai.

On Monday, Ramagurunathan along with a gang kidnapped S Seetharaman (56) of Villivakkam when he came to visit his son in Adambakkam.

Seetharaman, who had earlier worked as a manager at a restaurant, had run a manufacturing firm in Tirunelveli from 2018 to 2021.

Later, he started a stock trading firm in Chennai. His partner from the manufacturing firm had invested Rs 7 lakh in it and his son-in-law, Ramagurunathan invested Rs 30 lakh for trading on the promise that Seetharaman will get him higher returns.

After initially getting them profit, Seetharaman could not return their investment due to fluctuations in stock market, police sources said. To retrieve the money, Ramagurunathan had sought the help of an advocate, who suggested to kidnap Seetharaman and get his signature.

On Monday, the gang took Seetharaman in a car to a hotel in the city and forced him to sign a paper saying that he owed them several lakhs of money. He was then let go at a temple near Nanganallur.

Based on Seetharaman’s complaint, Adambakkam police registered a case and arrested the duo. Search is on for six others.