Three persons, who tried to extort `20 lakh from music director Harris Jayaraj and threatened to kidnap him if he didn’t pay up, have been arrested on Monday.
Among the three was Thirumalai (32), the driver of the music director’s father. The two others were identified as Arunachala Pandian (32), and Muthukrishnan (32). According to police, Harris’s wife received phone calls on Sunday and Monday demanding money.
Based on a complaint, the police set up a team of decoys and contacted the callers with promise of the money. Believing it, the callers came to collect the money and police arrested them at Trisoolam. Police believe that Thirumalai, knowing the background of the family, masterminded the extortion plan.
Gold Seized, 2 Held
Customs sleuths from the Air Intelligence Unit caught and arrested two men who attempted to smuggle gold stashed in their rectums. Mohammed Ismail and Kalandhar Hussain, who arrived from Singapore on Monday by Air India flight AI 352, were stopped by customs sleuths - acting on suspicion. When they subjected them to full body scans they found the gold and had it removed using endoscopy. In all there was 600 gm of gold hidden. The gold was confiscated and the men were interrogated.