The Kadapa police arrested a dismissed police constable and five others who allegedly kidnapped for ransom Soma Reddaiah, 58, managing director of SS Chemical factory and correspondent of Siddharth school, of CMR Palle in Chintakommadinne mandal in Kadapa district, on December 29.
The arrested were identified as Kulkarni Raju alias Dudiya, 21, Pattedi Sudhakar, 19, both residents of Khaitalapur in Hyderabad; Ragula Siva Reddy, 27, Bathala Siva Sankar Yadav alias Siva, 24, Madam Nagarjuna, 29, and the dismissed constable Gopavaram Siva Prasad alias Siva, 24, all of Chintakommadinne mandal.
The police recovered Rs. 2 lakh, two motorcycles, an autorickshaw, an iron rod, plastic tape and rope from their possession, Kadapa DSP E.G. Ashok Kumar told the media in Kadapa.
Three other accused fled.
The police officer said Soma Ramesh, son of Mr. Reddaiah, who had gone to Bengaluru on personal work, reportedly received a phone call from some persons that they had abducted his father and that they would release him only if a ransom of Rs. 35 lakh was paid to them.
Ramesh alerted his mother, who filed a complaint with the Chintakommadinne police.
The kidnappers spoke to Mr. Ramesh in Telangana slang, and as told by them, he went to the Telugu Ganga Project colony in Kadapa and handed over the cash. The kidnappers allegedly gave the slip to the policemen in plainclothes, who however rescued Mr. Reddaiah from a dilapidated house, the DSP said. The accused were arrested from the TGP Colony later.
The dismissed constable was reportedly addicted to vices and involved in criminal cases such as harassment of his wife, rape and SC/ST cases, the DSP said. Kulkarni Raju and Pattedi Sudhakar were hired allegedly from Hyderabad for the kidnap and terrify the victim’s family in Telangana slang, he added.
