Udupi : The Udupi Town police arrested three persons associated with Hindu Jagarana Vedike (HJV) for their alleged involvement in abducting a shares dealer and robbing him of ₹2 lakh.

The police gave the names of the accused as Santosh Bovi, 32, Anil Poojary, 34, and Manikanta Kharvi, 25.

The police said shares dealer Ashok Kumar, who hailed from Tumakuru, worked from his office in Vadiraj Complex in Udupi since last four months. On July 17, Bovi came to Kumar’s office and asked the latter to accompany him in his car as he had to discuss a business proposal. As he drove, Bovi stopped his car near Ajjarkad where four persons got into the vehicle.

They took Kumar to a beachside resort in Padukone and robbed him of ₹2 lakh. Next day, the accused brought Kumar to a bank in the city. While one among the accused entered the bank along with Kumar, the other six accused were waiting in a car and a two-wheeler outside the bank. The accused person forced Kumar to withdraw ₹10 lakh from his account. Soon after, Kumar raised alarm about presence of the accused that made the accused person run away and flee along with other accused persons in their vehicles.

Following the compliant by Kumar, the Udupi Town police traced three accused persons and seized pistol and lethal weapons from them. The police also recovered ₹1.35 lakh from the accused. The police found the car used by the accused near Mannapalla Lake in Manipal. Search was on for other accused persons, including those who have conspired.

The police said the three arrested persons are involved in criminal cases registered in Kaup, Karkala Rural and Kukke Subrahmanya stations. They have been taken to police custody for four days.