UAE-based Indian businessman kidnapped in Kerala, rescued. Ex-employee among accused

Kerala Police on Thursday rescued a UAE-based Indian businessman, VP Shameer, who had been kidnapped while visiting the state

Updated on: Aug 15, 2025, 10:22:06 IST

By Sanya Jain

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Kerala Police on Thursday rescued a UAE-based Indian businessman who had been kidnapped while visiting the state. VP Shameer had been on a holiday in his home state when he was kidnapped on Tuesday evening. Police say that a former employee was behind the kidnapping.

VP Shameer, 36, was kidnapped while visiting his hometown in Kerala.

How was VP Shameer kidnapped?

According to a report in Gulf News, Shameer, 36, was abducted from Malappuram on Tuesday evening. He was driving back home on his motorcycle when kidnappers pulled him into a Toyota Innova car. This happened around 7:45pm on Tuesday.

How police tracked the kidnappers

Police used CCTV and location tracking to figure out that the car was moving through Ernakulam. The first lead came when cops questioned those who had provided the car to the accused. Later, they also figured out that the kidnappers had friends in Kollam and Kollam Police joined the probe.

According to a Manorama report, a breakthrough in the case occurred when Shameer’s phone was switched on twice in Ernakulam.

Ransom threats from kidnappers

On Wednesday, Shameer’s business partner in the UAE received a ransom call from Shameer's phone number. The callers reportedly demanded ₹1.5 crore to free the UAE-based businessman.

Shameer’s wife also received threat calls, warning her not to approach the police.

Rescuing the businessman

VP Shameer was finally found on Thursday around 11:30am. He was found inside a car in Kuruvikkonam in the Kollam district, in a joint operation between Malappuram and Kollam police.

Police say that his kidnappers were attempting to move him to Tamil Nadu. Six people involved in the kidnapping were arrested, including a former employee of Shameer’s. The six arrested are Puthu Veettil Shamseer (30), his friends Achikka alias Hamseer (30) and Fayas alias Mustafa (28); Afzal (30) of Ponnani; and Kollam natives Muhammad Naif (29) and Shaheer (30).

Former employee in police net

Cops say that the kidnapping was carried out at the behest of Shamseer, 30, who used to work for VP Shameer.

Shamseer was an employee of Shameer’s business ventures. However, he grew disgruntled after he was fired and had earlier issued threats against the businessman.

Shameer, who runs a chain of pharmacy stores in the UAE, says he was assaulted during the kidnapping. He will now undergo medical checks.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sanya Jain
Sanya Jain is an Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times Digital. She has nearly a decade of experience in covering offbeat stories that speak to the everyday experience - from viral videos to human interest copies that spark conversation. Her interests stretch across business, pop culture, social media trends, entertainment and global affairs. Before joining Hindustan Times, Sanya spent two years with Moneycontrol and five years with NDTV. She holds an undergraduate degree in English literature from St Stephen’s College, Delhi, and a master’s in journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications, Mumbai. Sanya has a sharp eye for spotting emerging trends and looking for newsworthy angles to elevate viral posts into meaningful narratives. She was the first one, for example, to cover Narayana Murthy’s remark on 70-hour work weeks that sparked a national conversation. She is equally at ease writing about business leaders as about the common man, about issues of national importance and memes that amuse social media. Sanya enjoys speaking with content creators, newsmakers and entrepreneurs to transform everyday moments into engaging, slice-of-life stories that resonate with readers. When she is not working, Sanya can be found curled up with a good book. Born and raised in Lucknow, she has spent the last several years in Delhi. She is deeply interested in animal welfare and now spends a lot of her time running after her destructive orange cat.Read More

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