CHENNAI: A 32-year-old man, who allegedly acted as a ‘kuruvi’ for a gold smuggling gang, was detained in a lodge in Triplicane and tortured for almost four months as he failed to hand over the gold to the gang members. Shajimon of Kanyakumari, who worked as an electrician in Dubai, was rescued and admitted to a government hospital.
The Triplicane police on Friday arrested four persons and detained the lodge owner. The accused have been identified as Asif Payas (23), Mohammad Aalam Afgan (28), Gopi Kannan (36) of Madurai and Varundharadas (40) of Odisha, a room service staff at the lodge. According to a police source, Shajimon decided to act as a ‘kuruvi’ for the gang with which he had gotten acquainted through a colleague, in April.
He was assigned to smuggle three gold bars valued at Rs 2 crore from Dubai to Chennai for a commission of Rs 5 lakh. However, when Shajimon landed in Chennai and met the gang members he allegedly told them that he did not receive the gold in Dubai and gave contradictory answers, police said.
Suspecting foul play, the gang kidnapped him and tortured him for months. The police said Shajimon informed his friend who alerted his family members. Subsequently, a complaint was filed and the police arrested all members of the gang. Further investigation in the case is under way to trace the gold bars.