Chennai: A 56-year-old shareholder of Neo Max Properties Pvt Ltd, accused of defrauding depositors of nearly ₹8,000 crore, was rescued from a farmhouse in Sivaganga after he was abducted by a gang from the Kelambakkam-Navalur stretch and held for a ₹1-crore ransom. Thalambur police arrested four members of the gang. The same group had kidnapped and extorted ₹1.4 crore from the real estate businessman, Charles, of Medavakkam, seven months ago too.Police said Charles was travelling in his luxury car with his driver, Shyam, 30, on the Kelambakkam-Navalur stretch on June 27. When Shyam parked the car at a mall and stepped out briefly, a four-member gang entered the vehicle, threatened Charles, took control of the car, and drove away with him inside.Based on CCTV footage, Police traced the suspects to Madurai, rescued Charles, and arrested Dinesh Pandiyan, 34, Dinesh Kumar, 33, Sabari ,26, all from Ramanathapuram, and Karuppasamy, 24, from Coimbatore.Investigation revealed the gang kidnapped Charles seven months ago and extorted ₹1.4 crore. He preferred not to lodge a complaint, after which, they targeted him for another ₹1 crore. The accused were remanded in judicial custody. “The suspects claim they are depositors who were cheated by the firm. But we are investigating if their claims are true as they have not produced proof. We are also probing if there is a business rivalry involved,” said police.
