Abducted KMDK man found dead in Salem

COIMBATORE: A Kongunadu Makkal Desiya Katchi (KMDK) functionary, who was kidnapped by a gang of unidentified persons, was found murdered late on Wednesday.

Police recovered the body of Gautham (36), KMDK’s Pallipalayam North union youth wing president, with multiple stab injuries near an isolated lake bund in Sankagiri at night.

Police said Gautham was returning home in his two-wheeler after closing his finance firm around 9.30 pm on August 22, when a gang of unidentified persons hiding near his house threw chili powder on his face and abducted him in their car.

From their custody, Gautham called his wife Divya Barathi (29) over phone and asked her to pack the jewels and cash in a bag and hand it over to a person sent by him. Then, his mobile phone went off and she lodged a complaint with Veppadai police.

Namakkal Superintendent of Police Sai Charan Tejaswi formed six special teams to investigate. Inquiries revealed that Gautham had an altercation with his employees Gunasekaran (29) and Prakash (28) over financial issues and Deepan (29), who quit his job after borrowing money from him. Police have secured the trio and interrogating them to know, if they were involved in the murder.

Meanwhile, family members and KMDK party workers gathered in protest in front of Veppadai police station on Thursday demanding the arrest of the culprits. Also, shops and eateries remained closed in a couple of villages in Pallipalayam condemning the murder.