The Peelamedu police have arrested nine out of 15 persons who were involved in the abduction of a tea stall owner from Cheran Maa Nagar in Coimbatore city, a few days ago.

N. Dharmaraj (32) and Venkat Prabbhu (25) of Madurai, P. Isakkimuthu of Thoothukudi, S. Sasikumar (23) of Theni, M. Sundaramahalingam (29) of Rathinapuri in Coimbatore, M. Sudeep (23) of Bengaluru and three others, namely K. Bhuvaneswaran (29), T. Muthusamy (21) and A. Mathavan (25), were arrested for abducting Velmurugan (34), a native of Thiruchendur in Thoothukudi district.

The police said Velmurugan, who was running a tea stall at Cheran Maa Nagar, and his friend Nagaraj (36) were lodged in Coimbatore Central Prison in judicial remand in an attempt to murder case last year.

They reportedly had a mutual agreement that whoever gets bail first should help the other person come out of prison. When Velmurugan was granted bail in December 2025, he had allegedly assured Nagaraj that he would help him get bail within a month. However, Velmurugan allegedly did not help Nagaraj, who complained the same to his friend Isakkimuthu when he visited him at prison recently.

According to the police, seven persons came in a car and abducted Velmurugan when he was at his tea stall on the night of June 17. They assaulted him and allegedly demanded 2 lakh for legal expenses for Nagaraj. The gang later left him at Saravanampatti, after threatening him to arrange the cash at the earliest.

Velmurugan lodged a complaint with the Peelamedu police, who launched an investigation and arrested the nine persons on Saturday (June 20, 2026).