In connection with the abduction of a businessman in Thalavadi on December 3, 2025, police on Thursday (January 1, 2026) arrested another member of the gang.
P. Kishore Kumar, who runs a textile shop and a hardware store and is engaged in multiple businesses, had gone for his routine night walk along the Thalavadi–Thalamalai Road after closing his shop. While speaking on the phone with his younger brother, Rakesh Kumar, a doctor at a private hospital in Coimbatore, he suddenly screamed for help. The call got disconnected, , and attempts to contact him failed as his mobile phone was switched off.
Rakesh lodged a complaint with the Thalavadi police, following which a case was registered and a search operation was launched. As the police intensified the search, the kidnappers abandoned Kishore in the Kumbaragundi forest area near the Tamil Nadu–Karnataka border.
Police earlier arrested Devaraj (57) of Kolipalya in Chamarajanagar district, Karnataka, and Manjunathan (30) of Chikkagajanur near Thalavadi. During interrogation, they confessed to abducting Kishore Kumar with the intention of extorting money from his family. Subsequently, Yasin (19), also from Chamarajanagar district, was arrested and produced before a court, which remanded him to judicial custody. Police said efforts were under way to secure one more accused involved in the case.
Published – January 01, 2026 05:41 pm IST
