Engineering student among 5 held for kidnap

Five youth, including an engineering student were arrested for allegedly kidnapping a friend and his cousin, and holding them captive in a house at Guduvanchery on Friday. The duo was kidnapped because the engineering student owed one of them Rs 10,000 for a laptop.

Police said they arrested five persons — Naina Mohammad (22), a final year engineering student at a college in Vandalur, Thamizharasan (22), a BPO centre owner, Murugavel (25), a jewellery store employee, Dhanasekaran (28), a carpenter and Sakthidasan (27), a IT company employee — during a vehicle check at Poondi Bazaar junction, Velachery main road on Friday afternoon.

The five had reportedly kidnapped R Vidyasankar (21), a hotel management student who resides in  Mu-arasanpet in  Madipakkam, and his cousin Ashok Kumar (18), when the two were waiting near the Tambaram Sanatorium flyover, on Thursday evening.

Police said that Vidyasankar had given his laptop to Naina Mohammad and asked him to sell it on his behalf. Mohammad apparently had delayed giving the money to his friend over the last one and half years.

On Wednesday, when Vidyasankar called Mohammad asking him for the money, the latter asked his friend to come near the flyover to collect the cash. But as Vid-yasankar and his cousin were waiting near the flyover, they were kidnapped and taken to Mohammad’s apartment. They were also allegedly attacked with deadly weapons, police said.

However, fortunately for Vidyasankar, Sivakumar, his neighbour, had witnessed the kidnapping and informed his parents, who in turn informed police before they went to Mohammad’s apartment and rescued the duo.  “Vidyasankar’s parents knew where Mohammad was staying as they were neighbours earlier and had been good friends. Mohammad had to return `10,000 and had kidnapped him as he could not return it,” police said.

They later lodged a complaint with the Chitlapakkam police, who nabbed the five and seized their car. The five were booked under seven sections of the IPC, including 147 (punishment for rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 363 (punishment for kidnapping) and 342 (punishment for wrongful confinement).