LOS ANGELES

Body Identified as Man Abducted for Ransom

A man whose body was discovered by two girls on a South-Central Los Angeles street this week was identified Friday as a Westchester businessman who was abducted in front of his home Wednesday, authorities said.

Mayand (Bill) Poonacha, 35, was abducted as he drove up to his home, Los Angeles police spokeswoman Sharyn Michelson said. A coroner’s spokesman said Poonacha had been shot to death.

Investigators said Poonacha’s wife saw two men approach her husband outside their home, and later received a call from a man who said her husband had been kidnaped and would be killed unless a ransom was paid. The man never called back, authorities said.

The girls discovered the body beneath a minivan Thursday, police said.