KOZHIKODE: A week has passed since Mohammad Shafi, a 38-year-old expatriate, was abducted by a four-member gang from his house at Parappanpoyil in Kozhikode district. However, the police are yet to trace his whereabouts. Based on the clues that those behind the abduction have links in Manjeswaram, the investigation team has extended the probe to Karnataka. A police team led by Mukkam station house officer is investigating the details in Manjeswaram.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday night a video message surfaced on media, in which Shafi is seen saying that he was abducted because he had brought 325 kg of gold, and there was no point in approaching the police.
The Thamarassery police have confirmed that the man in the video is Shafi. “I was kidnapped and brought here because my brother and I had brought 325 kg of gold. The gold was worth around Rs 80 crore. So, if immediate steps are not taken, things will become worse. Then there will be no other way (for escape). So, take measures for my release, even if it includes holding a demonstration or taking out march to police station,” Shafi says in the video message.
The local residents have constituted an action committee demanding speedy investigation in the case.
Around 9 pm on April 7, a gang of four masked men dragged Shafi and his wife out of their house and took them away in a car. Later, they dropped Shafi’s wife at the Parappanpoyil market. In the initial stage of the investigation, the police found that Shafi, who ran a mobile phone shop in Dubai and also worked in the real estate sector, was kidnapped due to personal vengeance over financial dealings abroad.