In a petition addressed to Coimbatore district Superintendent of Police Pa Moorthy, P Maharajan of Virugambakkam in Chennai claimed that he and his friend were not kidnapped but had escaped from the police custody under the pretext of attending to the nature’s call. A copy of the petition, which 

was sent to all media houses, stated that Maharajan and his friend Vignesh Rao were taken into custody by the Kerala police in Sriperumbudur on July 21. 

“The cops failed to furnish a summon notice, were in civilian clothes and came by a private vehicle. One of the four men, who claimed to be a Sub-Inspector, took away Rs 2.05 lakh and an eight-sovereign gold chain belonging to me. They said we would be released if we paid them Rs 10 lakh in cash,” Maharajan said in the petition. 

“When they halted the vehicle near Karumathampatty toll gate around 11.30 pm on Saturday, both of us managed to escape under the pretext of attending to the nature’s call. We then returned to Coimbatore by taking a bus,” Maharajan added. Maharajan has been booked by the Palluruthy police in Ernakulam district under the Kerala Money Lenders Act and Prohibition of Charging Exorbitant Interest Act.

When contacted, Superintendent of Police Pa Moorthy refused to confirm whether he had received the petition from Maharajan. However, the SP said the Kerala police were making contradictory claims regarding the incident. “The Kerala police should have informed the TN police immediately. But they did not do so and instead proceeded to Kerala. They only returned the next day to register a complaint,” Moorthy said.   Moorthy said that a search is on for Maharajan, who is still on the run. Police are also probing as to how a petition purportedly sent by him reached the media.