Kollengode: The Kollengode police on Wednesday arrested four persons, all natives of Thiruvananthapuram district, on charges of attempting to abduct a girl student in broad daylight.
The arrested were identified as Sabin, 22, of Vallakadavu, Jishnu, 25, of Nedumangad, Sharan, 21, of Vattiyoorkavu, and Shine, 36, of Karakulam. All of them have been working as background dancers in the Malayalam film industry.
They were taken into custody from a lodge in Palani where they had been hiding.
The case pertained to the gang attempting to kidnap the student on the Mangalam-Govindapuram road on Tuesday morning. The girl was on her way to catch a bus to Kollengode when a car stopped next to her and one of the gang members asked her to get in. He allegedly grabbed her bag and tried to drag her into their car, but the girl managed to run away and took shelter at a house in the locality.
Based on the complaint filed by the victim and testimonies of her teachers, the Kollengode police registered a case and retrieved footage from CCTV cameras installed outside the shops along the stretch. From the visuals, the police identified the vehicle and obtained its registration details from the website of the Motor Vehicles Department.
Following a tip-off that the four had been spotted in Palani, a police team was dispatched to trace them down. Their arrest was recorded after the girl identified them.
However, the accused denied the charges saying they did not try to force her into the car. The girl panicked and ran away upon seeing them, they told the police.
