Chennai: The Chennai city police’s swift efforts in 2013 to nab the kidnappers of the UK couple of Lankan origin, the Thavarajahs, was lauded by a court in the United Kingdom, which convicted the masterminds of the kidnap last Wednesday.
The couple, Mr Thavarajah, 59, and his wife, Ms Salaja, 55, came for a holiday to India on May 29, 2013, when persons posing as tour operators kidnapped them. The kidnappers then got in touch with the couple’s daughter in the UK, Darshini (25), and demanded a ransom of '3 crore.
The Chennai police, in coordination with Scotland Yard, rescued the couple from a hideout near Neyveli three days later.
Thirteen people were arrested in Chennai in connection with the kidnap. Based on information provided by the city police, two Lankan nationals, Ajanthan and Ramesh, were arrested in the UK and it was found out that the duo had orchestrated the kidnapping in India through their associates Kannan, Sathiya, Indra and others, a police officer said.
An official release said, “Evidence collected from the Chennai police helped in getting conviction for the two masterminds, Ajanthan and Ramesh, for 9 years and 7.5 years respectively.”
On February 11, 2014, a team from Scotland Yard approached the city police to collect documentary evidence, photographs, e-mail conversations and call data records, which strengthened the case for the UK police, a police officer said.
An excerpt from the judgment given by the UK judge read, “If it was not for the good work of the Indian police in rescuing the hostages when they did, then the consequences of Mr and Mrs Thavarajah may well have been far more serious.”
