The Race Course police in Coimbatore have arrested three persons on charges of attempting to murder an employee of a private finance firm in a moving car, after kidnapping him from the busy VOC Grounds at knife point in the broad daylight.
S. Salman (23) of Pudhu Pallivasal Street at Sugunapuram, Akbar Sadiq (26) of Kadai Street at Madukkarai market and Mohammed Askar (24) of Vincent Road were arrested on charges of kidnapping and attempting to murder P. Sonaimuthu (37), a resident of Sripathy Nagar on Nanjundapuram Road, on September 4.
Mr. Sonaimuthu, a native of Alanganallur in Madurai, works as the area sales manager of a private finance firm in Coimbatore. He is married and has a son. According to the police, he moved to Coimbatore two years ago and worked in a private bank as loan manager. He became friends with a sales executive, namely Vijayalakshmi. The woman got married to Salman six months ago and adopted the name Riya Fathima after converted to Islam.
The police said Salman got offended as Mr. Sonaimuthu and Ms. Fathima continued contact over the phone. On Sunday, Salman telephoned Mr. Sonaimuthu and asked him to come to VOC Grounds for a talk. Mr. Sonaimuthu went to the place with his friends where Salman came with Sadiq and Askar in a car around 3.30 p.m. Salman questioned Mr. Sonaimuthu about the alleged telephone conversations and financial transactions the latter had with Ms. Fathima. Later, Sadiq and Askar beat him up and Salman forced him to get inside the car at knife point.
As the car moved, the accused assaulted Mr. Sonaimuthu with a knife, causing bleeding injuries. According to the police, the car ran out of fuel as it reached Athupalam and Mr. Sonaimuthu managed to escape. The man ran out of the car with bleeding cuts and people helped him get admitted to the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital.
Though the accused left the vehicle and escaped, a special team of the police arrested them in the evening. They were produced before a court and were sent to judicial remand.
