KARUR: An eight-member gang was arrested from Kanyakumari district on Sunday in connection with two separate incidents of kidnapping and robbery that took place in Karur district. The arrested were identified as M Bagavathi Raja (24), S Marimuthu (30), A Vigneshwaran (19), T Muthuveeran alias Muthukumar (19), S Chellamuthu (19), M Suresh (19), S Krishna (19), and R Tamilarasu (19) - all natives of Kanyakumari district.
They were remanded in Central Prison, Tiruchy on Monday. Police said the first incident took place on February 21, 2025, around 5 am, when a three-member gang in a car attempted to kidnap S Palaniswami (78) of Sengunthapuram, Karur, a dairy farm owner, while he was walking on the road. Based on his complaint, the Karur City Police registered a case and launched an investigation.
In the second incident, which occurred on July 18, 2025, at around 5 am, a five-member gang kidnapped A Marimuthu, a car driver, near the share auto stand at Karur Bus Stand under the pretext of hiring his car. They confined him in a shed at Mangacholipuram, fled with his car, and also snatched his mobile phone and Rs 600 in cash.
Karur City Police rescued Marimuthu. A special team of police tracked the suspects using CCTV footage and mobile tower locations and arrested all eight from Kanyakumari on Sunday. Investigation revealed that all eight were involved in both the kidnapping and robbery incidents. Police said the prime accused, Bagavathi Raja, had previously worked at Palaniswami's dairy farm. After quitting his job, he conspired to extort money from him with the help of his associates.
Their first attempt failed. In the second attempt, they hired Marimuthu's car to kidnap Palaniswami again. However, the plan could not be executed due to unforeseen circumstances. Instead, they confined Marimuthu and fled with his vehicle, police added.