KOCHI: Those who kidnapped Syju Thankachan, an accused in the case relating to the death of two models in a car accident last year, from a resort in Kuzhuppilly are residents of nearby areas and were attempting such a crime for the first time, the police have found.
A senior police officer said the accused involved in the case are from the Edavanakkad and Njarakkal regions. “The accused are small-time criminals. It’s the first time they have kidnapped someone. We are verifying certain details,” the officer said.
Though the accused said they kidnapped Syju believing that he was wealthy and his relatives would pay a ransom for his release, the police have taken their statements with a pinch of salt. They are probing whether it’s a plot set by Syju himself.
Five persons have been arrested in connection with the case, the police said. They have also opposed the anticipatory bail plea of the one of the accused, Jinshad, 32, of Edavanakkad, when he moved the sessions court. According to the police, the accused trespassed into the room where Syju was asleep around midnight on February 15 and threatened him, demanding `10 lakh. Later, the accused forcibly took him to an abandoned house where he was tortured physically. The police said the accused shifted Syju from one place to another before he was released.
“There appears to be a conspiracy with some serious planning. The accused were forced to release Syju after they realised they wouldn’t get any ransom. But it’s still a mystery why the accused decided to kidnap a person who has already been in the midst of controversy after the death of the two models,” said the officer.