CHENNAI: Tamil rapper, Dev Anand, who was kidnapped by a gang from Chennai on Wednesday night was rescued in Pudukkottai on Thursday. Five people have been arrested and the hunt is on for five others, said the police.
According to the police, the 29-year-old artist from Madurai was going towards Kalpakkam after a show and had to drop two of his friends in Thiruverkadu. Around midnight, when the car was on the Maduravoyal bypass road, a two-wheeler allegedly hit the car from behind.
“Dev Anand and his friends got down to check on the damage. At the same time, a 10-member gang in two cars reached the spot and kidnapped Dev Anand at knifepoint and threatened his friends,” said a police officer.
Based on a complaint, Thiruverkadu police registered a case and launched a hunt for the suspects. Based on a tip-off that the accused were headed to Madurai with the rapper, the city police alerted their Madurai counterparts, who zeroed in on the suspects and nabbed five of them. They are being brought to Chennai, said the police.
After a preliminary investigation, police said Anand’s brother Siranjeevi had allegedly collected at least Rs 2.5 crore from several people in Madurai in a chit-fund scheme and failed to return the money. Police are also investigating this angle.