Cops, public thwart bid to kidnap bank manager

CHENNAI: In the third alleged kidnap case reported in the city in less than a week, a four-member gang attempted to kidnap the manager of a private bank branch late on Thursday.  

“S Muruganantham (36), manager of IndusInd Bank, was standing outside the bank on Thursday evening, when a gang of Mohammed Kasim alias Bishan (33), Sherif, Dhili Babu and Askar approached him. The manager was seen talking to them, and a few minutes later, an autorickhsaw appeared at the entrance of the bank, in which the four men allegedly tried to abduct him,” said a police officer.

The bank manager raised an alarm and the public tried to stop the auto. Someone alerted the police. “The police and the public jointly nabbed the two suspects, while the other two escaped,” added the officer.
During investigation, it was revealed that Mohammed from Triplicane, who was involved in import of electrical goods, had approached Muruganantham to complete an illegal transaction worth `6 crore for which he offered to pay `65 lakh as commission.

“Agreeing to this deal, the bank manager received the `65 lakh commission, but failed to complete the transaction. Angered by this, the businessman approached history-sheeter Kutti from Mamallapuram and hired men to allegedly kidnap the manager,” he added.