COIMBATORE: The Saibaba Colony police in Coimbatore city on Friday night arrested three youths on the charges of extorting Rs 20,000 and a gold chain from a physiotherapist at knifepoint two days earlier.
The trio kidnapped the physiotherapist and his friend in a car and threatened them at knifepoint, and dropped them at the civic park on Collector Sivakumar Street near Saibaba Colony on Wednesday, January 21, from where they were initially taken.
C Karthik, M Harikrishnan of Kavundampalayam and V Pradeep of Virudhunagar district were arrested based on a complaint by Naveen Chakravarthy, a native of Virudhunagar district who is currently residing at Balasubramaniyam Street in Saibaba Colony.
A case has been registered against them under BNS sections such as 351 (3) (criminal intimidation), 115 (2) (voluntarily causing hurt), and 127 (2) (wrongful confinement). They were remanded in judicial custody.
Chakravarthy is a physiotherapist at a private hospital in Thondamuthur. He and his friend were kidnapped at 9.30pm on Wednesday, as they proceeded to the toilet on the premises of the civic park at Collector Sivakumar Street, police said.
The suspects bundled them into their car and demanded cash. When Chakravarthy stated that he did not have money, they asked him to pay online through G-pay. Subsequently, Chakravarthy sent the amount and handed over his gold chain.
"We arrested after tracing them using the cell phone numbers and CCTV footage at Ondipudur. Karthik and Pradeep — two of the arrested men — had rented a house in Ondipudur. Karthik knows Chakravarthy and the trio targeted him with the intention of snatching a large sum. During the investigation it was found that the suspects had pending cases of attempted murder and theft," said a police officer who is investigating the case.