A UAE-based businessman has been allegedly kidnapped from his hometown in the southern Indian state of Kerala, according to Malayalam media reports. The man, who runs a pharmacy chain in Sharjah, was reportedly abducted on Thursday night while he was on a short visit to the country.

Malayalam media 24News reported that a WhatsApp call demanding ransom of more than half a million dirham was placed to the man's business partner on Wednesday morning. During the call, which came from the abductee's personal phone, the perpetrators also demanded that the police complaint registered by his wife be dropped.

The man, who lives in the UAE with his family, was visiting India for 10 days and had landed in Kerala on August 4. CCTV footage of the incident shows a group of people waiting for the entrepreneur in a SUV and stopping him as he arrived in his motorcycle. He was then forcibly taken inside the vehicle before it sped off.

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Similarly, last month, a Dubai-based businessman was kidnapped in Bangalore by his ex-girlfriend and her associates for a ransom of more than Dh1 million. The man, who was held captive for seven days, managed to alert neighbors and was later rescued by local police. Four suspects were apprehended.

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