Chennai, May 31 (IANS) The Chennai City Police have arrested five men in connection with the kidnapping and assault of a 29-year-old assistant director who works with filmmaker Suseenthiran.

The attack is believed to be motivated by the victim’s personal relationship with a woman, which the accused allegedly wanted him to end. The victim, Rajakumaran, went missing on Thursday evening (May 29), prompting his friends to file a complaint at the Arumbakkam police station. However, to the surprise of investigators, Rajakumaran appeared at the station the following day and revealed that he had been kidnapped and assaulted by a gang of five men.

According to his statement, Rajakumaran was on his two-wheeler and heading to a tea stall when a car intentionally knocked him down in the Razack Garden area of Arumbakkam. Before he could recover, the occupants of the vehicle forcefully pulled him into the car and drove off.

During the abduction, the five men allegedly assaulted Rajakumaran and repeatedly threatened him, demanding that he cut off all ties with a woman he was in a relationship with. After driving him around various locations and issuing threats, the gang fled after stealing his mobile phone and two-wheeler.

Based on the victim’s complaint, a special investigation team reviewed CCTV footage from the locality and tracked down the vehicle used in the crime. The inquiry led to the arrest of five suspects on Saturday. The accused have been identified as G. Chandrasekar (33) of West Mambalam, M. Karthikeyan (25) of Saidapet, Lalit Aditya (21) of T. Nagar, V. Diwakar (21) of K.K. Nagar, and Augustine Johnpaul (21) of Saidapet.

Police recovered Rajakumaran’s stolen phone and two-wheeler during the arrests. All five were produced before a magistrate who remanded them to judicial custody.

Police sources said that further investigation is underway to determine if additional persons were involved in planning or executing the abduction. The incident has raised concerns about vigilantism and personal vendettas escalating into criminal acts, prompting law enforcement to increase surveillance in sensitive neighbourhoods.

–IANS

aal/uk