Kozhikode: Three people have been arrested in the case pertaining to the abduction of a man, suspected to be a carrier of smuggled gold, at gunpoint in Arikulam of Kozhikode.
Koduvally natives Naushad, 31; Mohammed Salih, 38, and Saiffudeen, 35, were the arrested.
Arikulam native Ashraf, who was abducted from his home by a gang on Tuesday morning, was taken to a sawmill at Mavoor and beaten up. He was later abandoned by the roadside.
Ashraf was found near Chathamangalam by midnight. The Kunnamangalam police then took him to the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital. His left leg was fractured and blade marks were found on the body.
Ashraf was taken to the Koyilandi police station and questioned by the rural district police chief A Sreenivas.
Dispute between gangs led to abduction
The police said that Ashraf acted as a carrier in gold smuggling. A dispute between two gangs from Koduvally and Kannur over the gold brought from the Gulf by him was the reason behind the abduction, according to the cops.
The gold, brought by Ashraf for the gang in Koduvally two months ago, was allegedly taken away by the Kannur gang. And Ashraf was given Rs 10 lakh instead. The Koduvally gang then abducted Ashraf, demanding that the gold be returned.
The police have retrieved a voice message from Ashraf's phone. The voice message is suspected to be that of Kodi Suni, accused in the 2012 murder of CPM rebel TP Chandrasekharan.
Ashraf claimed that the Kannur gang had threatened and snatched the gold from him. But the police have not taken Ashraf's statements at face value. The police suspect that Ashraf colluded with the Kannur gang.
What Ashraf told the police
As per the statements given by Ashraf to the police, he arrived at the Karipur airport from Dubai with 2kg gold on May 26. The gold belonged to a gang in Koduvally. The agent had said that Ashraf's photo had been sent to the person to whom the gold was to be handed over and that person would approach him. The reward was Rs 50,000 and a flight ticket. As soon as Ashraf stepped out of the airport, one gang approached him. He got into their vehicle.
Ashraf realised the ploy when the vehicle sped towards Nadapuram instead of Koduvally. He was beaten up when he said that he would not give the gold. He was taken to a house at Nadapuram and threatened. He was told that instead of the Rs 50,000 offered by the Koduvally gang, he would be given Rs 15 lakh. He agreed to this and was let off.
After the gold was sold, he was given Rs 10 lakh. But then the Koduvally gang started calling him and threatening him. When he informed the Kannur gang about this, he was sent the voice clip, purportedly of Kodi Suni, to be sent to those threatening him.
