SALEM: After a brief hiatus, the State Police are back in the news over extrajudicial killings. S Kathirvel, a 30-year-old history-sheeter wanted in several murder, abduction and robbery cases, was killed in a police encounter in Salem on Thursday. An Inspector and Sub Inspector sustained injuries in the incident and have been admitted to Salem Government Hospital.
According to Karipatty police, Kathirvel and his gang used to target couples travelling under the butterfly flyover on the Salem-Bengaluru Highway. They stole valuables and, in at least once case, misbehaved with a woman. Based on complaints, the police went to arrest him on Thursday.
“Kathirvel, however, started to run and the policemen chased him. Suddenly, he attacked the cops with his machete. To defend the team, Inspector Subramaniam shot the accused twice. He died on the spot,” said a police official. The body of the deceased has been taken to Salem GH for postmortem. Officials say the action against Kathirvel was part of the crackdown launched by SP Deepa Ganiger against criminals in Salem.
First such encounter in 10 years
HISTORY-SHEETER S Kathirvel was killed in a police encounter on Thursday, the first such case after 10 years. Kathirvel, wanted on charges of murder, abduction and robbery, was allegedly targeting couples travelling on deserted stretches beneath the butterfly flyover on Salem-Bengaluru Highway.
He, along with Kattur Anand, Veerampadi Murugan, Gopi, Venkatesn and C Ganesan among others, allegedly robbed valuables from couples and students hanging around in deserted corners under the flyover. Police say they even ‘misbehaved’ with women and recorded the acts on their mobile phones.
Based on complaints, police detained C Ganesan, alias Murukku Ganesan, who revealed details of the gang. “As Ganesan had revealed information, Kathirvel and others were furious and sought revenge. They killed him on April 5,” said the police. Six teams were formed to hunt the culprits. On Thursday, cops received information that Kathirvel was hiding in Kullampatti. He was gunned down for allegedly attacking officers trying to arrest him. “There are eight cases registered against Kathirvel,” said SP Deepa Ganiger.