Girls’ rescue exposes kidnap link with de-addiction centre

Madurai City Police Commissioner Mahesh Kumar Agarwal said that eight persons, including two women were arrested. The key accused in the case was Ravi, who was running a de-addiction centre. The police also retrieved a sum of Rs 42.43 lakh from the kidnappers.

“Ravi’s father was working as an accountant with Karthick Selvan (father of the minor girls who were kidnapped). As his father fell ill, Ravi had asked Karthik Selvan for monetary assistance. Though Kathick Selvam had given him money, Ravi was not satisfied. Therefore, he decided to kidnap Karthick Selvan’s daughters,” said the Commissioner.

The police explained that Ravi had sought the assistance of Kannan, who had come to the de-addiction centre for treatment, from Tirunelveli. It is said that Kannan had masterminded the kidnap. “He had kidnapped the girls with the help of four men,” said police sources.

On Thursday, the sisters, Anushree (9) and Jeyashree (5), daughters of Karthick Selvan, were kidnapped on their way to school. They had demanded a ransom of Rs 50 lakh from Karthick. Police had directed Karthick to hand over the ransom to them so that they could get back the girls safely and nab the accused. As planned, Karthick delivered the amount and the girls were released next morning.

It is said that two women, Kaladevi (wife of Ravi) and Jeevajothi (an employee of the de-addiction centre), were also involved in the case. But, the Commissioner chose to play down while sharing details about them and their involvement in the case. It is said that the children were looked after by Kaladevi and Jeevajothi at the de-addiction centre.