Malappuram, Kerala: A 19-year-old woman and four of her friends have been arrested for allegedly hiring a gang to abduct, rob and attempt to murder her boyfriend in Tirur, police said.

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The accused have been identified as Safana (19), Nadia (20), Rabeeba (25), Irshad (28) and Asarudheen (25).

A police team led by Tirur Inspector Jaleel Karuthedath arrested the accused on Wednesday.

Police said the woman had allegedly hired her friends to get rid of her boyfriend. The accused allegedly abducted the man, robbed him of his mobile phone, brutally assaulted him and attempted to kill him.

The incident took place when the young man, a native of Pattambi, reached Tirur around midnight the other day in search of his girlfriend. One of the accused allegedly offered to take him to a friend and took him on a bike. He was then taken to a place where the other accused were waiting. They allegedly forced him into a car and brutally assaulted him.

The accused later abandoned the man by the roadside near the riverbank at Thazhepalam and fled, police said. The accused were arrested following an investigation launched after the victim immediately informed the police about the incident.

Irshad and Asarudheen, who were arrested in the case, had earlier been remanded in connection with drug trafficking cases. Both are also accused in cases involving attempted murder and assault in the coastal region, police said.

The accused were produced before the Tirur magistrate and remanded in judicial custody.

Sub-Inspectors Anusha Gopinath, Mithun and Nazeer, Assistant Sub-Inspector Rajeesh, and Civil Police Officers Unnikuttan, Ashish Stephen, Saiju, Anandhu, Adarsh and Diljith were part of the investigation team.