Kidnapped Malur businessman freed after family approaches police

KOLAR: A businessman, who was kidnapped for a Rs 5 crore ransom on Thursday evening in Malur, was released by the kidnappers near the Palamaner forest in Andhra Pradesh after they came to know that his family had approached the police.

The businessman Babu, who runs a brick kiln and other businesses, returned home on Thursday night. Meanwhile, after the family lodged a complaint, the Malur police had set up three teams to trace the businessman.

Babu (70), runs a brick factory at Hedaginabele village in Malur taluk. Apart from this, he is into timber business and also runs a furniture business and is also into real estate and other businesses. On Thursday, some unidentified miscreants approached Babu on the pretext of buying bricks and took him near the brick kiln and kidnapped him from there.

When Babu didn’t return till evening, his wife Varalakshmi and son Manjunath tried to contact him on phone, but it was switched off. Later in the evening, the kidnappers called the family from Babu’s phone, abused them in foul language, told them that Babu had been kidnapped and demanded a ransom of Rs 5 crore to release him unharmed. They also got Babu to speak to the family members.

The panic-stricken family members then approached the Malur police. Babu’s wife had recently undergone a leg surgery while his son Manjunath is partially afflicted by paralysis and is facing domestic problems himself. The kidnapping came as a shock to the family, but they were relieved after he was released. The Malur police are now on the lookout for the kidnappers.