4 gamblers in Chennai kidnap man to recover loss

CHENNAI: Four men, who had lost a lot betting online on the advice of a courier firm operator kidnapped his employee on Wednesday and demanded 20 lakh to release him. The man was rescued on Thursday and the kidnappers were arrested.
Brijesh Bhai, 32, a native of Gujarat, has been running a courier office in Sowcarpet for the past three years, said police.And, Rahul, also from Gujarat, has been working in the firm for the past three months.
“Brijesh received a call on Wednesday from a few individuals, claiming that his friend Umesh Chander had sent him 20 lakh. They asked Brijesh to collect it from T Nagar,” police said.
Brijesh tried calling Umesh but could not reach him. So, he sent Rahul to collect the money. “Rahul did not return with the cash, and his phone was switched off,” said police. Sometime later, a few people called Brijesh and demanded a ransom. This prompted him to file a complaint at Elephant Gate police station on Wednesday night.
A police team led by Inspector Kannagi reviewed CCTV camera footage from T Nagar, where Rahul had been. Another police team tracked his mobile phone tower location and pinpointed it to Nazarethpet near Poonamallee.
A team, assigned by Flower Bazaar Assistant Commissioner of Police Dakshinamurthy, rescued Rahul. The abductors were identified as Udaya Sankar, 22, Mahesh, 30, a gym trainer, Sai Kantha Reddy, 31, and Mathuri Mahesh, 30, all hailing from Telangana. “The four had placed bets on a cricket match through an online site called ‘Mahadev App’. They did it on the advice of Brijesh and another man named Umesh Chander,” police said. But, they suffered losses and Brijesh refused to compensate them. So, they decided to get their own back.
One of them called Brijesh and asked him to collect the cash. But when Rahul went there, the four abducted him in a car and kept him at a house in Nazarethpet. The four were remanded in judicial custody. Police will interrogate Brijesh and his friend Umesh Chander about money transactions.