2 held on charges of abduction

Kochi: Ernakulam rural district crime branch have arrested two persons on charges of abduction and cheating a Muvattupuzha resident and his chartered accountant. The accused, Natesan (47) and Rajesh Pandyan (26) of Tamil Nadu, had collected a ransom of over Rs 1 crore from the victims’ families for their release.The accused are suspected to be part of a racket, which might have cheated many more people in the state, police said.The accused used to promise loans of Rs 100 crore and above to lure victims and later used to dupe them by collecting money in the name of ‘registration fee’. They used to demand property deeds, promissory notes and cheque towards registration. The accused even used to show a bogus demand draft for Rs 100 crore to convince the victims, police said. Police said the racket was suspected to have contacts in the registration office in Tamil Nadu.The Muvattupuzha resident was promised Rs 50 crore as first instalment and when he reached the registration office at Tirunelveli, the accused showed a demand draft for Rs 50 lakh. The chartered accountant, who accompanied the victim, turned suspicious about its authenticity after which the accused allegedly abducted both. They were later released after collecting a ransom of Rs 1.50 crore from their families.District police chief (Ernakulam rural) Vivek Kumar had formed a special team to probe the case. The accused were tracked down by the police as part of the probe.