The personal assistant (PA) of a Tamil Nadu Minister was kidnapped at knifepoint by a masked four-member gang in Udumalpet in nearby Tirupur district and released after three hours at a spot some 10 km from where he was abducted on Wednesday, police said. The motive behind the abduction is not known, they said. Karnan, the personal assistant of Animal Husbandry Minister Udumalai K Radhakrishnan, was sitting in the latter's office when the gang barged in, bundled the PA into a waiting car and sped away around 11.30 am, the police said. The minister was not in the office and only a woman staff member was present when the incident happened, police said.

CCTV footage revealed that three gang members went inside the office and returned with Karnan, while another person was seen standing outside. Senior police officials, including Tirupur DSP Disha Mittal, carried out an inquiry, while vehicle checks were intensified on Tirupur-Pollachi road and nearby Highways.

However, the gang abandoned Karnan at Dhali around 2.45 PM and he returned to the office, police said. Efforts were on to tracking the abductors and to ascertain the reason for the kidnapping, they added.