KOCHI: The Infopark police in Kochi has arrested five members of a ‘quotation’ gang in connection with the kidnapping of an MBA student of the Rajagiri College. The arrested has been identified as Binshad 26, Padiyath Veetil in Nattika in Thrissur, Aboobacker Siddique 32, Koorikkat Veetil at Thrikkodiyeri near Ottappalam, Sulfikkar 35, Machingathodiyil Veetil in Ottappalam, Bageesh 24, Edakkat Veetil in Chavakkad, Ummer Farooq 26 Thazhathayil Veetil in Chavakkad.
The police said that the accused kidnapped Firasath, a native of Kozhikode on March 23, on the advice of a businessman from Malappuram. He had engaged the gang for taking revenge against the father of the student due to business rivalry. The gangsters took the assignment on the promise that they will be paid Rs 3 cr for the successful completion of the operation.
According to the police the gangsters reached the college hostel of the student on 23rd morning and took him in a car on the pretext of identifying another student. The police launched a probe following the complaint filed by the class mate of Firasath. The police traced the boy at the outskirts of Pollachi in Tamil Nadu on the same evening.
The Infopark police pursued the probe against the members of the quotation gang with support of the cyber cell of the city police. Tracking the mobile phone numbers, the police found that that the accused were located in Thrissur and Palakkad districts. The probe team then formed two squads and nabbed the culprits.
Police said that three members of the gang identified as Afsal, Lathif and Mufas are still absconding. Effort were on to nab the three and the businessman who had assigned the gangsters for the kidnapping, police said.
