COIMBATORE: Nine persons of a 12-member gang were arrested on Tuesday for abducting a realtor and his driver while demanding Rs one crore as ransom in Rasipuram in Namakkal.

The complainant, Gopalakrishnan (62), is a native of Kallakurichi district and a resident of Goundampalayam near Rasipuram. On November 5, he was travelling from Chennai to Rasipuram in a car driven by his driver, Ajmal, when a gang intercepted the vehicle near Kizhakku Valasu on the Salem-Namakkal NH and abducted both.

The abductors held the duo captive in a house and assaulted them, demanding Rs 1 crore and the original title deed of a piece of land Gopalakrishnan had purchased in Kallakurichi. The duo escaped the next day at night (November 6) and were admitted to the Rasipuram GH. Based on a complaint, Rasipuram police registered a case.

Police inquiries revealed that Gopalakrishnan borrowed Rs 70 lakh from Ashok Kumar (47), a realtor from Rasipuram, to purchase land in Kallakurichi. As Gopalakrishnan delayed repayment, Ashok Kumar plotted the abduction and paid Rs four lakh to Sundararajan (48), an advocate from Namagiripettai, to arrange the kidnapping. Sundararajan, in turn, paid Rs 2.5 lakh to a gang led by Dhanapal (48) of Mallur to execute the plan.

Based on the investigation, police arrested Ashok Kumar and eight others. They seized three cars used in the abduction, four mobile phones, a two-wheeler and Rs 90,000 in cash from the accused. A search is under way for three others.