Ooty: Police have arrested eight people in connection with the abduction of a Catholic priest for ransom from Ooty, a hill station.
Father Joseph George from Kollam in Kerala, was rescued when his family members, as advised by police, were about to hand over 1 million rupees to the gang members at Devarsolai in Gudalur, about 50 km northwest of Ooty. The abductors had demanded the ransom for the priest’s release.
The eight-member gang led by Asaithambi had kept a watch on Fr George since his arrival in Ooty on May 27. The gang, said to be members of a little known political outfit Makkal Tamil Desam, later kidnapped two days ago and took him to Gudalur, business-standard.com reported.
They then contacted Fr George’s relatives and sought the ransom for his release, police said.
On information from the relatives to senior police officials, two special teams were formed to probe the case, they said.
As planned, the relatives agreed to pay the money and came to Devarsolai. When they were about hand over the money, police nabbed the gang members and rescued the priest.