Chennai police have arrested a trust administrator in connection with the alleged kidnapping and assault of a 60-year-old man over a massive donation deal that reportedly went wrong. The accused, along with two others who are currently on the run, allegedly threatened the man’s life and coerced him into handing over valuable assets.
The complaint was lodged by Edwin, a resident of Anna Nagar, who claimed that administrators of the ‘Dhanvanthri’ Trust, operating out of Velachery, abducted him in a vehicle, assaulted him, and demanded ownership documents of his house along with his wife’s jewelry. They also forced him to sign a blank bank cheque under duress, allegedly threatening to kill him if he didn’t comply.
Following the complaint, the Anna Nagar police registered a case and arrested one of the trust’s administrators, identified as Aminuddin. A search is underway for two other suspects, including a female administrator.
According to police sources, Edwin had been in contact with Saptarishi Banerjee, a man from Mumbai, with whom he reportedly had a personal relationship. Banerjee had claimed that he could arrange substantial donations from Dubai for charitable foundations and offered to help if needed. Trusting him, Edwin introduced Banerjee to the administrators of the Dhanvanthri Foundation.
Subsequently, Edwin received a commission of ₹35 lakh for facilitating a promised donation of ₹1,000 crore. However, when the funds failed to arrive after several months, the trust administrators began pressuring Edwin for answers. Despite explaining that he was only the middleman and had no control over the delayed donation, the administrators were allegedly not convinced.
In retaliation, they allegedly abducted Edwin, assaulted him, and forced him to hand over signed cheques. They also demanded the deed to his home and his wife’s jewelry, threatening to kill him if the promised money did not come through.
Investigators reviewed CCTV footage from the area and confirmed that Edwin had been forcibly taken by Dr. Vaishnavi, Moideen, and Aminuddin—administrators of the foundation. While Aminuddin has been taken into custody, efforts are ongoing to locate and arrest the remaining two suspects. The investigation is still underway.
(With inputs from Dinamalar)
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