COIMBATORE: Pillur Dam police arrested two persons on the charges of killing a 23-year-old tribal youth using a country-made gun near Sorandi settlement in Karamadai forest range, on Monday.
The arrested have been identified as K Praveen alias Murugesan (37) of Kundoor, and Pappaiyan (50) of Ansoor near Velliankadu. They were arrested on the charges of killing their relative R Sanjith, a daily wage labourer, inside the reserve forest.
The deceased and the two accused had ventured into the forest allegedly to hunt wild animals using a country-made gun. According to police sources, the trio consumed alcohol after reaching the forest and then a heated argument broke out between Sanjith and Pappaiyan.
In a fit of rage, Pappaiyan is suspected to have grabbed the firearm and opened fire at Sanjith. Five bullets struck him in the abdomen and chest, killing him on the spot.
Around 8:30 am on Sunday, Praveen called Sanjith's family and informed them that the latter had sustained gunshot injuries near Bhavani River. When the family reached the location, they found Sanjith dead and the two men missing.
The Pillur Dam police were alerted and they formed two special teams to trace the suspects. "We have arrested Praveen, who was found at his home, and taken him into custody. Praveen was heavily intoxicated during the arrest and has given inconsistent statements," said a police officer.
Following the incident, the forest department officials carried out a search at Sorandi tribal settlement to find out the illegal guns that were in the possession of the tribals.
The officials said that though they carried out searches at the settlement on Sunday, they did not find any illegal weapons. An official said that they are planning to conduct a combing operation with the help of police in the coming days.
"We will conduct a search operation and create awareness among the tribal people in 24 tribal settlements within the reserve forest, and 3 tribal settlements outside the forest. We will give time for two more weeks to handover the illegal weapons, including country-made guns, to the tribal," said an official of the Karamadai forest range.