CHENNAI: Four men were arrested on charges of forcibly detaining two men from Rajasthan at a lodge in Triplicane and demanding money from them. The police said that one of the accused had befriended one of the victims, who was in Rajasthan, on social media and invited him to Chennai.
The Triplicane police said that one of the victim, Farman, was a textile businessman in Rajasthan. He had befriended M Muhamed Khalid (26) of Chennai through social media. Furman’s sister died recently and to console him Khalid invited him to Chennai.
On Tuesday, Farman came to Triplicane and was staying at a lodge there. Furman’s friend Muhammad Munajur from Rajasthan also had come to Chennai and visited him on Thursday.
The same day, Khalid and three of his friends came to the room. They forcibly detained Farman and Munajur, and demanded Rs 5 lakh from them. The duo were beaten with an iron rod. Munajur managed to pay Rs 6,000 using a mobile application and was then let go. Munajur immediately lodged a police complaint based on which the police went to the lodge and rescued Farman.
Apart from Khalid, the police arrested S Syed Fazal Ahmed (38), N Irfan Basha (24), and M Yuvraj (24). After an inquiry, all four were sent to judicial custody on Saturday. A search is on to nab one more person.