A cattle thief was thrashed by villagers of Kezhil Arasampet, after he was caught trying to steal goats, in the early hours of Wednesday.
The villagers caught Raja (30 around 4.30 am on Wednesday while he was tying to make good his escape with two dead goats on his bike. The villagers claimed that Raja’s associates managed to escape in an SUV.
Raja, was tied to a pole and beaten up by the villagers before the police were informed. Police on reaching took Raja into custody and rushed to the Vellore Government Medical College Hospital at 6.30 am, where he was admitted.
Police said Raja, a habitual offender, had strangulated two goats of the flock belonging to Chidambaram ofKezhil Arasampet village . The police recovered the dead goats and a stolen two-wheeler from Raja.
Deputy Superintendent of Police of Vellore S Dakshinamoorthy said that Raja was a habitual offender and a part of the notorious Korava gang. “He was released from the Salem Central Prison on December 4. There were nearly 150 cases, relating to robbery, cattle theft and theft of vehicles, against him in Tirupur, Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri districts,” said the DSP. He added that Raja was not accompanied by anyone.
However, the DSP said Raja was not thrashed by the villagers and had sustained minor injuries and bruises on his body while he was attempting to escape from the villagers.
He was admitted to the Government Hospital and was undergoing treatment there. “We will arrest him after he is discharged from the hospital. However, we have deployed personnel to keep him under surveillance,” he further said. Police said that the vehicle was a stolen one.