New Delhi, Aug 10 - Two men who abducted a businessman last month were arrested here Monday with a substantial chunk of Rs.20 million ransom they took from the victim's family to free him.

Gaurav Chouhan, 27, and Sahi Ram, 24, were taken into custody for the July 27 kidnapping of an Old Delhi businessman who deals in copper wires. The police recovered Rs.13.8 million from them.

After the abduction, Chouhan called the businessman's father and asked him to pay Rs.20 million for his son's release.

The police registered a case following the ransom calls.

Before the police could act, the father paid the money to the kidnappers on the Meerut-Ghaziabad road July 29. The victim was released a day later.

'The victim's father kept us in the dark. He did not tell us he was going to pay the ransom. But our men knew and followed him from a distance. Our priority was the safe release of the businessman,' said Joint Commissioner of Police (Northern Range) Karnal Singh.

He said the kidnappers used the victim's mobile telephone to make the ransom calls, thus making the police job more difficult.

'We found that Chouhan used to supply copper wires to the victim and was aware of the family's financial condition. Initially he denied his involvement but confessed when he was confronted with the evidence we had gathered,' Singh said.

Chouhan told the police that he knew that the businessman had sold a plot of land in Gurgaon for a huge amount.