TIRUPUR: The role of three suspended policemen in the kidnap of a city-based garment trader in July has come to light, with the investigation team probing deeper into the cases in which they were involved. All the four were arrested a month ago in connection with the `3.9-crore highway heist involving a Kerala-based jewellery manufacturer’s vehicle near Madukkarai on the Palakkad Main Road.
Arumugam was kidnapped by a team of six, including three in police uniforms, on July 15, under the guise of questioning him for his alleged links with the Islamic State. The businessman was parking his car near his shop when the group asked him to board a police jeep. Only a little later did Arumugam realise that he was being kidnapped.
The kidnappers beat him up and demanded a ransom of `5 crore for his release. They later robbed him of `15,000 and his mobile phone and left him near the Thalaivasal toll gate in Salem. The matter came to light when Arumugam called his family from a truck driver’s phone. He returned to Tirupur on July 16, and filed a complaint.
Subsequent probe with former inspector of Paramathi Police Station N Muthukumar, former Kulithalai SI R Saravanan, and former constable at Veleyadumpalayam Dharmendran revealed that they were involved in the kidnap.
The kidnappers had also taken Arumugam’s car, which was recovered from a spot near Dharapuram in Tirupur district a month ago.
As all the three have already been arrested by the Coimbatore Rural Police in connection with the Madukkarai heist, the Tirupur Police have obtained their custody through prisoner transfer warrant issued by the court on Tuesday, said a senior police official in the city.