Man Arrested In Swanage Over Kidnap Plot

4 June 2013, 18:18 | Updated: 4 June 2013, 18:34

A London couple who were kidnapped in India said they feared the kidnappers would kill them.

The couple, reported to be Kanapathipillai Thavarajah and his wife Salajah, were abducted on May 29 in Chennai and apparently held for a £300,000 ransom.

The duo are now safe and well and a 22-year-old man was held in Swanage, Dorset, police said.

The Bangalore-based Deccan Herald reported that the couple's daughter, who also lives in London, sparked the police investigation after receiving a telephone ransom demand for £300,000.

The victims had reportedly flown to Colombo, Sri Lanka, for a wedding, before flying to India for a nine-day temple tour.

The couple were lured into what they thought was a taxi, it was reported, which they believed had been sent by their hotel to collect them.

A Chennai police commissioner said a gang operated from London and India to orchestrate the abduction.

Speaking to the Evening Standard, the couple said the kidnappers ``snatched our phones and passports''.

``We feared that they would kill us. All I could do was pray and lean on my husband for support,'' Mrs Thavarajah said.

Her husband said: ``This is like a second life. I was not confident, until I saw 15 to 20 policemen come to our rescue.''

Scotland Yard said: ''The investigation was led by the Chennai police with the MPS offering support to the family in London. The couple have now been rescued and are safe and well.``

Several people are believed to have been arrested in India.