THANE: The two businessman brothers from the district here, who were kidnapped from Kuala Lumpur last week, said the abductors spoke Tamil and warned them never to come back to Malaysia again.
Upon their return, Rohan Vaidya (36) and his brother Kaustubh Vaidya (31) told the media that a business rivalry could be the reason behind their abduction.
The brothers flew to Malaysia on August 1 after their fish export firm, Rock Frozen Food, landed an order from the Malaysia-based Mis Lee Frozen Foods.
They had scheduled two business meetings on August 2. After the first meeting got over at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur, the company, which had arranged the second meeting sent a car for them, they said.
A car arrived and they got in. But to their surprise, the driver left the main road and headed for a forested area, said the duo. Then another car caught up with them, and six men got down from it.
The brothers were tied up, blindfolded and bundled into the second car. The kidnappers took them to an unknown destination and asked them to contact the family in India and convey a demand of Rs 1 crore in ransom.
"The abductors spoke Tamil. We could not figure out most of what they were talking about," said Kaustubh Vaidya. The duo was held captive for four days, during which period the abductors beat them repeatedly and gave them food only once a day, the brothers said.
They also relieved the duo of Rs 66,000 in cash and valuables such as chains and watches. On August 6, the brothers were released by the abductors on an isolated stretch of road near the Malaysian capital.
The two had no money. Luckily, they met an Indian-origin taxi driver who took them to their hotel, the brothers said. Before releasing, the abductors warned them never to come back to Malaysia again, they said.
The duo returned to India with the help of the Indian Embassy yesterday. Before returning, the Malaysian police, who are probing the abduction, spoke to them.
While saying that a business rivalry could be the reason behind their abduction, the brothers did not elaborate.
They also stated that their family -- which had contacted police here -- did not pay any ransom to anyone for their release.