Kozhikode: In a coordinated operation, Kunnamangalam and Kalikavu police rescued a man and arrested all five gang members who kidnapped him.
Police said Harshad Ali (34) from Moozhikkal in Kozhikkode, who was kidnapped from Karanthur near Kunnamangalam on Tuesday night, was rescued from a chicken farm at Kalikavu near Nilambur in Malappuram district within hours of his abduction.
Kunnamangalam sub-inspector P Aneesh said Suhail Variyam Kuntil, Muhammed Murshid, Tajdar, Firose and Abdul Jaleel were arrested early on Wednesday and were remanded to 14 days of custody.
The abduction drama played out in the middle of the busy road in Karanthur on Tuesday evening.
Sensing that he was being tailed while going to Kalanthode, Harshad parked his two-wheeler at a petrol filling station Varatyakkal near Kunnamangalam and hired an autorickshaw. He asked the driver to turn to Moozhikkal side.
When they reached Karanthur, the gang waylaid the autorickshaw and took Harshad into their car forcibly. This created a traffic block on the road.
Cops were alerted about the abduction when the autorickshaw driver filed a complaint with the Kunnamangalam police. Soon they launched a probe and found out that an onlooker had taken a video of the commotion on the road on his mobile phone. From the visuals, police identified the details of the car the culprits used.
They alerted their colleagues in Kalikavu who traced the gang in the chicken farm where Harshad was held captive.
Police said Harshad, who was working as the marketing manager for Suhail's firm, now runs a chicken farm in his native place Moozhikkal.
An officer said there was a dispute between the two regarding the money Harshad allegedly owed Suhail.
It is alleged that Harshad was not returning Rs 4 lakh he took while working as the marketing manager for Suhail's firm. The gang hatched a plan to abduct Harshad and get the money after he refused to pay back despite several requests and went incommunicado.
