GST staff among 3 held for kidnapping mobile spare parts show owner

CHENNAI: Three men, including an executive assistant in the Central GST & Excise department, have been arrested for allegedly kidnapping a 25-year-old mobile spare parts shop owner and demanding a Rs 50 lakh ransom.

The victim, identified as Sumer Singh, runs a shop on Ritchie Street. He was abducted early Saturday morning on NSC Bose Road in Sowcarpet.

According to Elephant Gate police, a gang forced Sumer into a car and held him captive at a residence in Anna Nagar. The kidnappers subsequently contacted Sumer's father, demanding Rs 50 lakh for his son's release.

The father alerted his friend, Dinesh, who filed a formal police complaint. Acting swiftly on the complaint, police perused the CCTV footage from the area.

Within two hours of the abduction, they traced the car to Anna Nagar and successfully rescued Sumer Singh. Following the rescue, police arrested three suspects: Naveenkumar (30), of West Tambaram, Sarath (22), of Erode, and Surender (34), of Madhavaram (executive assistant, Central GST & Excise).

The police seized the car used in the crime and four mobile phones. Investigations revealed that the motive stemmed from a financial dispute.

The prime suspect, Salim, who is still at large, had allegedly given Rs 50 lakh to Sumer Singh, expecting it would be doubled. When Sumer failed to return the promised amount, Salim reportedly directed the arrested trio to kidnap him and recover the money.

All three arrested men were remanded in judicial custody on Sunday. Police are continuing their investigation to apprehend Salim and any other individuals involved.