MADURAI: As if it were a scene straight out of a Kollywood masala, khaki-clad policemen gave a supari killer hot chase in the outskirts of Madurai on Sunday. And contrary to the masala stuff where the hardcore criminal gives the cops a slip, police in the real world managed to nab him after about an hour.
A seven-member team from the Organised Crime Intelligence Unit (OCIU) carried out their job in a cinematic fashion and arrested M Raja alias ‘Kattai’ Raja (36) of Tiruvarur district.
They chased him for about an hour on two bikes and a four-wheeler while he was trying to escape on a two-wheeler in Samayanallur.
According to the police, ‘Kattai’ Raja is an accused in 14 cases - 10 murder and four robbery cases. Also, 12 warrants are pending against him on various criminal cases in Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Coimbatore and Chennai.
After OCIU Inspector R Chockalingam and Sub-Inspector, A Jaishankar, received a tip-off that Raja was in the city, they formed a seven-member team to nab him.
While four police personnel followed him on two motorcycles, the rest followed him in a four-wheeler in civilian clothes while he was on his way to Paravai to meet his younger brother Selvam. As he was crossing Kodaneri village tank, the team surrounded him and asked him to surrender. When he fled the spot, they gave a hot chase and caught him after about an hour. They also seized a pistol, six bullets and a knife.
A senior police officer said that Raja’s mother died when he was 12 years old and unable to bear his step mother’s torture, he ran away from home. While he was working in a tea shop in Dindigul, he came in contact with a notorious rowdy ‘Karadi’ Pandi. Initially, he acted as his henchman and later started taking contracts on his own. After ‘Karadi’ Pandi was killed in an encounter, he rose to become gang leader.
Criminal to the Core
Raja is an accused in 14 cases — 10 murder and four robbery related
12 warrants are pending against him on various criminal cases in Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Coimbatore and Chennai
Has been evading arrest since 2011
Goondas Act was slapped twice against him