More than a month after an employee of NLC India Ltd went missing, the Neyveli police arrested three of his friends on charges of kidnapping and murder.
The body of Ashok Kumar, 55, hailing from Kerala, was exhumed from a land at Pethanaickanapalayam near here.
Ashok Kumar, an official in the HR department of the NLC India Ltd. went missing on April 22. The victim’s brother Satheesh lodged a complaint with the Neyveli police.
Done in by friends
The police said Suresh Kumar, a scrap dealer, Rajesh and Kamaraj went to the victim’s house on April 22.
They allegedly kidnapped Ashok Kumar in a car and confined him in a house in Indira Nagar.
They gagged Ashok Kumar and tied him to a chair. Using his ATM card, they withdrew ₹19 lakh.
When the accused returned from the ATM centre they found Ashok Kumar dead.
The accused dumped the body in a private fish farm at Pethanaickanapalayam near here.
The police examined the call details and bank transactions of the victim and arrested Suresh Kumar.
He confessed to his involvement in the crime and the role of Rajesh and Kamaraj in the murder, the police added.