COIMBATORE: The Krishnagiri police arrested a five-member gang of kidnappers and rescued two realtors from Kerala.
According to police, the two realtors, Yusuf (57), from Hope Nagar, and Zabeer Ahmed (67), from Ganapathy Nagar, had gone to receive a phone call from a stranger to check land for sale at Kurubarapalli village in Hosur Taluk, Krishnagiri, on August 26.
They had gone to a spot in a two-wheeler and were picked up by the gang in a car.
The members of the gang, however, kidnapped the duo and demanded a ransom of Rs 50 lakh from the family members to free them.
Based on the complaint at Krishnagiri Taluk Police, Superintendent of Police P Thangadurai formed a special team led by Deputy Superintendent of Police Murali to nab the culprits.
After investigations, the police tracked them based on their phone network to be within the Parassala police station limits in Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala state.
A police team from Krishnagiri, jointly with the Kerala police, surrounded the house of the accused persons and rescued the duo on Thursday.
Police also nabbed Samuel Thomas (23), Binoy Agustin (28), Abiram (30) and Vishnu (29), all hailing from different parts of Kerala. Acting on their information, the police also nabbed Suresh Kumar (42), from Salem, while a search is on for three others, who were on the run.
Police said the abductors had assaulted the duo, demanding a ransom of Rs 50 lakh. Police also seized fake ID cards and police uniforms from the accused persons. Of them, Suresh Kumar was booked by Kerala police in 2014 on charges of circulating fake currency notes. Further inquiries are on.