Malayali expats express safety concerns in Kerala after prominent NRI businessman’s abduction
Jeddah: The abduction of expatriate businessman V. P. Muhammed Ali has caused concern among the Malayali community in Jeddah, where he has been a prominent figure in business and social circles for nearly five decades.
Muhammed Ali, originally from Poongode in Kalikavu, Malappuram, runs several business ventures in Saudi Arabia, other Gulf countries and Kerala. He is the Managing Director of Jeddah National Hospital and the Rayan Medical Group. News of his abduction has unsettled Gulf-based Malayalis, many of whom regard him as an important supporter of the expatriate community.
The incident occurred on Saturday around 6.30 pm while he was travelling to Kochi Nedumbassery Airport to return to Jeddah. As his vehicle reached Arangottukara on the Malappuram–Palakkad district border, an Innova car reportedly intercepted his vehicle. A group of unidentified men allegedly threatened him at gunpoint, forced him out and pushed him into their car before speeding away.
He was taken to a house in Kothakurissi in Palakkad district and kept captive. In the early hours of Sunday, he managed to escape while his abductors were asleep and reached a nearby mosque for help. Local residents took him to a hospital, where he is undergoing treatment for injuries, including facial wounds.
The motive for the abduction is not yet clear. Muhammed Ali is involved in a case pending before the Supreme Court related to a college in the Nilgiris, and his relatives suspect that individuals connected to the dispute may be behind the kidnapping. Police have intensified the investigation, but the lack of arrests has led to frustration among expatriates.
Malayalis in Jeddah say the incident raises broader concerns about safety in Kerala, particularly for businesspersons and investors. They have urged authorities to ensure the immediate arrest of those responsible and take strong legal action in the case.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Man kills woman lecturer, sets car ablaze; dies by suicide in Karnataka
Bengaluru (PTI): A 46-year-old man allegedly killed a woman lecturer by setting fire to the car with her inside, before dying by suicide; his severed body was found by railway police the next day, police said on Tuesday.
The deceased, identified as Ramanjinappa, a resident of Doddaballapura, was a contract worker in the tahsildar’s office, they said.
Police said the man, who was married and had apparently separated from his wife, was in an illicit relationship with a woman identified as Saroja, whose charred body was found inside a gutted car in an isolated area near the Bashetty Industrial Area in Doddaballapura taluk on the outskirts of Bengaluru.
Saroja was also married and had a son, police said.
According to police, on Saturday, the man allegedly borrowed a car from an acquaintance, claiming he had a medical emergency and needed to visit a hospital.
Citing preliminary investigations, a senior police officer said the man picked up the lecturer from a bus stop in Devanahalli. The two spent a couple of hours driving around Nandi Hills and nearby areas.
Later, they reached a secluded spot in Doddaballapura, where it is suspected that an argument ensued inside the car, following which he allegedly hit her on the head with a hammer, the officer said.
He then set the car on fire, reportedly using petrol, and is believed to have died by suicide thereafter, police said.
Locals who saw the burning car alerted the police and fire department, who rushed to the spot, extinguished the fire, and found the woman’s body completely charred inside the vehicle, the officer added.
His severed body was found near railway tracks in Bidadi by the railway police on Sunday, he said.
The motive and whether the crime was premeditated or impulsive are under investigation, he said.
Saroja’s husband filed a complaint accusing Ramanjinappa of killing her, police said, adding that a detailed investigation is underway to establish the exact sequence of events.
