Chennai

Ramakumar (name changed) of Triplicane, an undergraduate, received Rs 5 lakh from his father, a field officer at a financial consulting firm, a few months ago claiming that he wanted make to a short film. While Ramakumar wasted the entire Rs 5 lakh, he wanted more money and could not ask his parents directly. A few days ago, Ramakumar informed his parents that Netflix bought his story for Rs 2.5 crore and on January 13, he left the house saying that he was going to a mall in Vadapalani. However, he did not return home and since his mobile phone was switched off, his father lodged a complaint at Vadapalani police station. While police registered a man-missing complaint and were combing the CCTV footage, Ramakumar’s father received messages from his son’s phone that he has been kidnapped and would be released on payment of Rs 30 lakh and the delay would result in bloody torture on his son. Ramakumar’s father immediately alerted inspector Praveen Rajesh. While police sensed that it could be a ploy by Ramakumar himself, a special team rushed to Secundrabad tracing his phone. The local police in Secundrabad was also alerted and they secured Ramakumar. He was brought back to Chennai. After discussions with senior officials, Ramakumar was let off with a warning.