Five held for abducting preacher

CHENNAI: Five persons were arrested for allegedly abducting a religious preacher in Avadi on Thursday. Police said, five persons had called Ragil, wife of one Kirubakaran (38), a religious preacher, from Thirumullaivoyal to tell her that they had kidnapped her husband and would release him only if she paid them Rs. 5 crore.Ragil then lodged a complaint with the police, who traced the phone call to Purasaivalkam and arrested the five persons. Inquiry revealed that the preacher had swindled large sums of money from various people after promising them huge returns within a year. His modus operandi was to collect Rs. 10,500 and then promise to give back Rs. 54,000 in instalments. While he had returned the money to some of the investors, he stalled and kept giving excuses when other investors asked him for their money, police said.