CHENNAI : The police are taking stock of `notorious' and habitual offenders station wise in the city.

After the kidnap of a 30-year-old iron and steel merchant a week ago, the police have intensified the drive and are keeping a close watch on their activities.

A group of men suspected to be accomplices of a notorious gangster in North Chennai kidnapped the merchant from his house in Red Hills last week posing as officials from the Income Tax department. The victim was detained in a house in Periamet for over 10 hours before he managed to escape around midnight.

Quoting the merchant, a senior police officer said after paying Rs 60 lakh as a part of the ransom, the victim managed to escape from the kidnappers and reached Vepery police station.

Based on his complaint, the Red Hills police registered a case of kidnap. The police formed special teams to nab the man who masterminded the kidnap, and have arrested a few people said to be accomplices of the gangster. A senior police officer said they are closely tracking the key man who is suspected to be in Karnataka. The police have a list of rowdies under each police station limits in the city, and the station house officers have been instructed to monitor the activities of rowdy elements.

A Deputy Commissioner of Police in the city said senior officers, during a review meeting, instructed the force to watch people conducting "katta panchayat" and indulging in land grabbing. People who had recently come out from prisons and ex-convicts are also being kept under surveillance.

Police stations in each zone (Central, North and South) in the city have been instructed to submit reports about the movements of listed rowdies.

After the "Punk" Kumar encounter episode, many police officers claimed that rowdy elements had either shifted their base outside Chennai or remained low-key. The fact that the crime rate had dipped showed that police were pro-active in containing the "katta panchayat" activities, they claimed.

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