Police arrested Friday six persons for abducting an engineering student and beating him up. Sagar Sowthana, 24, Sriram Thoothu, 22, Karan Prasanna, 22, Sunil, 22, Thanmai Ranjan, 23, Suraj, 22 and Prathap Mukundan alias Bablu, 23 – who are all engineering graduates from Odisha acted as agents of a private engineering college procuring students from their state.
When Prathap tried to pocket the commision for a seat, his partners abducted him and beat him up at their residence.
Sriram of Odisha had come to Chennai last week to secure admission for his son in an engineering college and had met Prathap Mukundan and handed over his son’s educational certificates along with Rs 35,000 and a cheque for Rs 1 lakh.
After receiving the money, Prathap failed to inform his friends about his meeting with Sriram and went into hiding. His friends went looking for him and tried contacting him but in vain, the police said.
Meanwhile, Prathap who was hiding in Tambaram had gone to Ramavaram bus terminus around 10.30 pm on Friday. As soon as Prathap reached the spot, his friends who were waiting at the bus terminus pushed him into a vehicle and sped away.
The auto rickshaw drivers who were present at the location noted down the number of the vehicle and alerted the Valasaravakkam police.
The police traced the gang to their apartment in Virugambakkam, where they found Prathap in an unconscious state. Later, he was admitted to a hospital. The gang was arrested during a vehicle check late Friday night in Vadapalani.
Police seized cash, educational certificates and the car used by the gang. A case has been registered and investigation is on.