Following the arrest of a person involved in the kidnapping of a city businessman, the police are now on the lookout for an eight-member gang which is involved in abduction for ransom.

63-year-old Eswaran, a lorry spare parts merchant, wanted to buy some land, but didn’t realize tha he had walked into a trap when he began negotiating with Tirupur-based broker, Ramesh.

Easwaran and his two friends went travelling in a car with Ramesh to Chattirapatti near Palani in Dindigul District to see the land. But Ramesh took them to a house, where an eight-member gang awaited them. They threatened Easwaran to part with the money he had brought to buy the land.

When Easwaran refused, the gang members assaulted his two friends. Finally, he relented and handed over Rs.5 lakhs kept in the car. The gang then threatened Easwaran to call his house and ask the family members to bring more money for the release of himself and his friends. The abductors also shot photographs of Easwaran with some idols and threatened to hand them over to the police and accuse him of smuggling those idols.

Easwaran called his son Hariharan and asked him to bring Rs.10 lakhs to free him from the abductors. Hariharan called the police, who followed him in his car. Hariharan’s vehicle was stopped near Chattirapatti. A man approached the car to snatch the cash bag, but the police nabbed him. He was identified as Kannan.

Based on information provided by him, the police managed to free Easwaran and his friends, but the rest of the gang had managed to escape. Search is on for them.