BENGALURU, June 5 -- Four people were arrested in connection with a conspiracy to abduct and extort money from a former Karnataka MLC, with police saying the conspiracy began with a traffic collision involving one of the accused in December last year.

The arrests, made in Bengaluru and Kerala on Wednesday night, came after investigators traced an alleged abduction and ransom demand targeting former legislator Dayananda Reddy to a dispute that began after a road accident in December 2025. Police identified the accused as B Praveen, Romeo Martin, NK Ashik and BT Adarsh, all hailing from Kerala and aged between 25 and 35.

According to Bengaluru Rural superintendent of police M V Chandra Kanth, the alleged conspiracy began after a collision...