THOOTHUKUDI: Seven persons, including the son of a former minister, were arrested for hijacking a container truck ferrying cashew nuts after assaulting the driver on the Thoothukudi-Tirunelveli stretch of a National Highway on Friday early morning.
The suspects have been identified as C Gnanaraj Jebasingh (40), son of former AIADMK minister Chellapandian, G Marimuthu Mani (30), V Senthilmurugan (35), S Manohar (36), S Vishnu (26), M Pandi (21) and D Rajkumar (26). Cashew worth Rs 1.10 crore and the truck worth `10 lakh were recovered from them. Police also seized the car they used for the crime.
Police said the incident happened when the driver of the truck, Ari Raj (35) of Alangulam in Tenkasi, was ferrying the container, loaded with 16 tonnes of cashew kernel, from Mulagumoodu in Kanyakumari district to a shipping company in Thoothukudi. The consignment was listed to be exported to Tokyo, Japan. “On the way, a gang of seven members, armed with knives and sharp weapons, waylaid the truck at Pottalurani on the national highway,” they added.
A senior police officer said the driver had noted down the registration number of the car of the hijackers when it tried to waylay the truck multiple times. “He informed the registration number of the car to his friend, who in turn, told the lorry owner about the incident,” he said, adding that this was a vital clue that led to the arrest.
Based on the lorry owner’s complaint, Thoothukudi SP S Jeyakumar deputed a special team led by Assistant Superintendent of Police G Chandeesh and Inspector Ramesh of Pudukottai police station.
Ramesh told TNIE locating the truck was a difficult task as its GPS device and fast tag were undone from the lorry. “However, we proceeded with the investigation with the number of the car, which belonged to the ex-AIADMK minister Chellapandian’s son Gnanaraj Jebasingh,” he added. The team traced the car of Jebasingh to Rasipuram of Namakkal district. The policemen led by Assistant Superintendent of Police Chandeesh arrested the suspects at Kakaneri village.
Ari Raj said in the attack of the gang, he sustained a knife injury on his head. “They later stuffed me in the boot of the car after blindfolding me and tying my hands and legs. The assailants emptied two bottles of liquor in my mouth to intoxicate me. I was thrown out of the car at Aravakurichi of Karur district in the morning. It was some shepherds who helped me get admitted to Aravakurichi government hospital,” he added.