A 31-year-old moneylender, who held a two-month old baby girl and a 48-year-old woman hostage over a financial dispute, was arrested by the Tiruvannamalai police on Tuesday.
According to the police, Bharati is a resident of Pai Gopuram 4th Street, in Tiruvannamalai.
Ms. Bharati and her mother Kannathal together had borrowed over ₹30,000 from Manikandan living in the same locality.
Money repaid
Every 10 days, she paid ₹300 as interest and recently both of them repaid the borrowed money.
However, on October 2, Manikandan barged into her house and told that she still owed him ₹8,000.
Subsequently, he took her two-month old daughter and her grandmother Kuppu and kept them hostage in his house.
He told that the two will be released only after the money was repaid.
Bharati lodged a complaint with the police and a case was registered under the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Charging Exorbitant Interest Act, 2003 and other sections of the IPC.
The police arrested Manikandan and rescued the child and the old woman.
Manikandan has been sent to judicial custody.