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UAE businessman recounts chilling 39-hour kidnapping ordeal in India
The kidnappers, including an alleged ex-employee, were demanding a ransom of Dh1.5 million
- PUBLISHED: Sun 17 Aug 2025, 4:03 PM UPDATED: Sun 17 Aug 2025, 7:28 PM
A UAE-based businessman who was kidnapped while on a short vacation in India has opened up about his experience. VP Shameer described his 39-hour ordeal where, according to him, he was beaten, choked, deprived of food and badgered for money. He said that he was worried for his family and didn’t think he would see them again.
“I thought about my daughter and wife while I was being held in captivity,” he told Khaleej Times on a call from India. “I thought I would never see them again. I was worried about their safety. That is all that was on my mind. The people who held me had no mercy and were ready to do anything for money. It was the prayers of my loved ones and my staff that brought me back.”
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According to Shameer, who runs a chain of pharmacies in the UAE, he had returned to his hometown in the southern Indian state of Kerala for a short vacation when the incident occurred. He claimed that the kidnappers made ransom demands to his business partner and warned his wife to withdraw the police complaint she had lodged.
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Shameer said the case stemmed from a dispute involving a restaurant based in Al Barsha. “In 2023, a UAE court ruled in my favor awarding me compensation of Dh675,000,” he said. “However, those involved in it had been threatening me for a while asking me to withdraw the case. Earlier this year, we slapped a travel ban on them and an arrest warrant because the outstanding dues had not been settled.”
He alleged that the accused in the case got closer to one of his disgruntled former employees, who was fired for misconduct in 2022. “They then roped in a few other former employees and began to spread toxic information about me,” he said. “This was something we were aware of but we didn’t expect them to escalate it like this and actually kidnap me.”
Abducted near home
Shameer said he was driving his motorcycle in a gully, just 50 meters away from his home, when a white SUV drove in front of him and blocked his way. A group of men allegedly got out and demanded that he get into the vehicle. Another car parked behind him to prevent him from getting away. The CCTV footage of the incident shows that it took place at 7.52pm IST on Thursday.
“One of the men hit me and I fell,” he recalled. “They then forcibly carried me into the SUV. From the vehicle several men hit me. One person put a shirt around my neck and held it from behind. So if I reacted to their (attacks) in any way, the man would tighten the shirt and choke me. They demanded that I pay them a total of Dh1.5 million as ransom and to withdraw the travel ban and arrest warrant of the accused in the Barsha restaurant case.”
According to him, the men switched off all their phones and continued driving for hundreds of kilometres. “From glimpses of signages and looking at the buses, I knew they were taking me to the southern part of Kerala,” he said.
Shameer said that on Wednesday morning at 9, two of the men switched on their phones and realized that the abduction had made it to the news. “They started to panic and then hit me some more for it becoming so highly publicized,” he said. “They then called my partner and my wife asking her to withdraw the case.”
Rescue operation
His captors allegedly changed cars with him twice and once stopped at a house, all the while continuing to negotiate with him. He said they lowered their demands twice when he told them he couldn’t pay the full amount- going down to Dh800,000 eventually. “First they asked for cheque leaves and then changed their minds saying they wanted cash,” he said. “When I said I would need to return to the UAE to get that much cash to them, they started to lose patience.”
“The kidnappers had told me that they would kill me as soon as we crossed the border,” he said. “It would have taken a lot of time for the police of both states to liaise with each other and then initiate a search and rescue operation for me. I was beginning to losing hope as we drew closer to the border.”
According to Shameer, it was on Thursday morning after 11 that Kerala Police dramatically rescued him from Kollam — more than 300 kilometers away from where he was kidnapped. “The police were not sure which of the two vehicles I was in. So they pulled up to the front of the car after a high-speed chase,” he said. “They then arrested the men and rescued me. If they were even half an hour late, we would have crossed the border into the state of Tamil Nadu, where they had threatened to kill me. It felt like the longest 39 hours of my life.”
He credited Kerala Police for their intense efforts to rescue him. “They spent the entire night in my house questioning my family and going through my records to find a motive,” he said. “They then split into three squads to trace the movements of my kidnappers and find them. I am very grateful for their efforts.”
