VELLORE: Pallikonda police on Sunday arrested three habitual offenders on charges of murder for gain and have spread a dragnet to nab their associate.
The gang murdered a 60-year-old man and robbed 20 of his sheep on May 18.
Police have also confiscated a mini-van which they used to transport the stolen cattle.
Police said, Ravindran (29) and Suresh (24) of Mohammedpuram near Anaicut and Siva (alias) Siva Kumar (32) of Chinnapalli village were arrested for murdering 60-year-old Radha, of Thaangal village near Anaicut and robbing his sheep. They have intensified a search for Kathirvel (alias) Gnanavel of Melkanganallur village who is absconding.
The four approached Radha at midnight on May 18 and asked him for water to drink. They then assaulted the elderly man and strangled him. They fled with 20 sheep. The incident came to light the next morning when a watchman of a nearby dairy farm saw Radha in an unconscious state, said Inspector of Pallikonda station G Srinivasan.
Though Radha’s son rushed him to the Government Hospital in Chennai, he died on May 19. Following this, police registered a case and the three members were nabbed on Saturday at Unai Vaniyambadi bus stand, near Anaicut.
They confessed to the crime and said that they sold the sheep to three meat shops in Pernambut. They have been indulging in cattle theft for the last two years, said a senior police officer.
Three Bike-lifters Held, 18 Motorbikes Seized
Ambur Town police nabbed three motorcycle lifters on Saturday in connection with a series of two-wheeler theft cases in Vaniyambadi and Ambur sub-divisions in the district.
The police have also seized 18 motorbikes, worth about `7.5 lakh, from the trio.
The three habitual offenders — Vinod (21) of Vaniyambadi, Madhan (21) and Thamzhilarasan (22) of Govindapuram — who work in a shoe company in Vaniyambadi, were caught during a vehicle check on the Ambur bypass Road on Saturday.
Police stopped the trio who were riding a motorbike and asked for their documents. They became suspicious as the trio gave contradictory answers and did not posses the documents for the motorbike.
Police found that they were involved in a series of motorbike theft cases. “The trio lifted high-end bikes and sold them to college students, bootleggers and mechanics for a low price staring at `5,000.” They have been operating in Vaniyambadi, Tirupattur, Gudiyattam and Ambur,” said a police officer. The three have been lodged in Vellore Central Prison for Men, Thorapadi.