Former corporator held for alleged kidnapping

A 57-YEAR-OLD former corpora- tor was on Thursday arrested alongwithhistwosonsneararcot in Tamil Nadu in connection with akidnappingforransomcaseregisteredagainsthimamonthago.v Nagaraj, the former corporator, was at large since April 14, when Bengaluru police had raided his house and found demonetised notes worth Rs 14.8 crore.

Nagaraj, N Gandhi and N Shastri will be brought to Bengaluru and produced before a court on Saturday. Police said that Nagaraj and his associates had allegedlykidnappedrealestatebusinessman Umesh and extorted around Rs 50 lakh from him. Umesh had submitted a petition tothepoliceonapril7,sayingthat a gang of four had held him captive along with two others in a building that belongs to Nagaraj.

He added that his kidnappers had stolen Rs 50 lakh, five gold rings, one bracelet, one chain, five cellphones and a debit card. A complaint was lodged on the basisofthepetition.umeshwasearlier arrested and released on bail along with 13 others for allegedly trying to exchange demonetised notes worth Rs 9.1 crore.

Nagaraj had released videos allegingthatthepolicewereplanning to eliminate him. He had alleged that the money seized from his residence belonged to some Ipsofficers.inhissecondvideo,he said that he would surrender if home minister G Parameshwara assured a fair investigation. Nagaraj, a history sheeter with over 40 cases filed against him, had unsuccessfully contested the 2013 assembly election from Bengaluru’s Gandhinagar.

Nagaraj was elected as an Independent councillor in 2001. He has been associated with the Congress, Janata Dal (Secular) and the BSR Party that BJP MP B Sriramulu had founded.