Family of four held for kidnapping man over property dispute

The Vepery police arrested a couple and their two sons for kidnapping the woman’s brother over a property dispute.

The victim, Purushoth (50), of Theeti Thottam in Perambur, is an auto driver. On Sunday morning, he had parked his autorickshaw on Ritherdon Road and Church Road junction to answer nature’s call when a white SUV bearing an AIADMK flag pulled over next to his vehicle. A few men got down from the car pushed Purushoth into the vehicle.

While they allegedly tied his hands and beat him, when he managed to escape from them, he found out that he was in Sathyavedu. Purushoth returned to the city on Monday and lodged a complaint at the Vepery police station that he was kidnapped by his sister and her husband over a property dispute. After investigation, the Vepery police arrested L Vatsala (42) of Perambur, an AIADMK functionary, her husband Loganathan, their sons L Jayaram (24) and L Rudran (22).

The police said that Purushoth lives on the first floor of a two-storied building in Perambur, while his mother lives on the ground floor. While Purushoth’s parents already sold a few properties and gave Rs 8 lakh to Vatsala, the latter, on suspicion that her mother might write off the house in Purushoth’s name, often created trouble and made a few men stay at the vacant house in the same building. While the dispute remained unsolved, Vatsala decided to kidnap Purushoth to threaten him, the police said. All four were remanded in judicial custody on Tuesday.