Man abducted at gunpoint; special team to probe

Kozhikode (Ker) July 13 (PTI): A 37-year-old man was allegedly abducted at gunpoint by a five member gang in this north Kerala district early Tuesday morning, police said.

Ashraf, a native of Oorallur here, was allegedly kidnapped by the gangsters after they bargee into his house,police said.

A complaint lodged by Siddique, brother of Ashraf, said the gang barged into the house, abducted him and fled in a vehicle.

The Kozhikode Rural Superintendent of Police, A Sreenivas, told PTI that a team has been constituted to investigate the incident.

''The man who has been abducted is not an NRI, but a frequent traveller to and from the Gulf,'' he said.

The SP also said that policehad no clue as to whether the abducted person had any connection with gold smuggling and added that investigation is underway.

Sources said police would also probe his alleged connections with the smuggling rackets.

The crime branch and the customs are probing the Karipur based gold smuggling racket after a series of crimes were exposed post a fatal road accident at nearby Ramanattukara late last month, in which five people allegedly involved in it were killed.