Coimbatore: A former DMK councillor and three others have been arrested for kidnapping a moneylender on Kottur Road in Pollachi on Tuesday and thrashing him at a godown.
According to police, a six-member gang had waylaid K Shanthakumar, 40, of Pollachi, who used to finance two-wheeler purchase, on Kottur Road on Tuesday afternoon and kidnapped him in a car.
“They took him to a godown near Thamaraikulam, where they assaulted him. Later, they abandoned him at Sentrampalayam in the evening,” the officer said.
Shanthakumar was subsequently admitted to a hospital. He lodged a complaint with the Pollachi police, who registered a case. Preliminary inquiry revealed that Shanthakumar had borrowed money from many people and had not repaid them. “The gang apparently kidnapped him after he failed to repay the borrowed money. After beating him up, the gang members asked him to repay the cash,” the officer said.
On Thursday, police arrested M Kannan, 51, a former DMK councillor of Pollachi municipality, R Naveenkumar, 29, of Kamatchi Nagar, John, 26, of Suleswaranpatti, and Stalin, 30, of Kannappan Nagar near Pollachi, in the case and seized two motorcycles and a car from them.
District superintendent of police Ara Arularasu said, “Our team had collected CCTV footage from the area from where Shanthakumar was kidnapped. While we collected the registration number of the car, which was used for kidnapping, from the footage, the same was found to be fake. There was a motorcycle following the car. We arrested the four by tracing the motorcycle’s registration number.” He said the gang had not demanded any money from Shanthakumar. All the four have been remanded in judicial custody.
Police are now on the lookout for the remaining two members of the gang - S Sathishkumar, 27, of Suleswaranpatti, and Anaimalai, of Kannappan Nagar near Pollachi.
Police said all the six were booked under Sections 294 (b), 323, 341, 342, 363 and 506(ii) of the Indian Penal Code.