Chennai: The City Police who had registered a complaint of kidnap and extortion against a Senegal based gang for reportedly abducting Shreekumar Varma, scion of Travancore royal family, halted its probe after the kin informed the cops that he had been rescued.
He is the great grandson of the 19th century painter Raja Ravi Varma and recipient of the R.K. Narayan Award for Excellence in Writing in English, 2015. He left for Dakar, Senegal’s capital on Jan 19.
“Even before we contacted the Ministry of External Affairs(MEA), the family got back to us saying that Shreekumar Varma had been rescued by the diplomatic mission in Senegal. It appears he was not carrying any painting of Ravi Varma, as claimed by a section of media. He went there only for negotiating the price for a painting which the family was willing to sell,” said a senior police official privy to the investigation
“Things turned awry in the West African country as the point person changed. He was abducted while he was talking to his sons over phone on Jan. 23. As efforts to reach him failed, they approached MEA. The sons receieved three ransom calls without specifying the ransom amount.
The caller spoke in English and settled for any money that the family could afford, to be given in exchange for Shreekumar Varma. Karthik Varma, son of the abducted writer and royal lineage, preferred a complaint and a case was registered”, he added.
Asked about the future course of the case, the cops asserted that they would take a call on it once he Shreekumar Varma returns to the country.
MEA sources confirmed Deccan Chronicle that Shreekumar Varma was safe and will return to India soon.
