ERODE: A 30-year-old history-sheeter, travelling in a car along with his wife, was hacked to death by a six-member gang along the Salem-Kochi National Highway near Nasiyanur in Erode district on Wednesday afternoon.
Chithode police, which pursued the gang, shot three of the alleged suspects in the leg when they tried to attack the police team with deadly weapons. While four suspects have been arrested, a search is on to nab the other two, police said. An inspector and a constable were injured in the attack.
Those arrested have been identified as Sathish (30), Saravanan (33), Bhoopalan (30), and Kartikeyan (32), all from Kitchipalayam in Salem district. According to police, the deceased, John (34), also from Kitchipalayam, lived with his wife Saranya (32) at S Periyapalayam in Tiruppur district, where he was operating an auto finance company.
John has several criminal cases pending against him at various police stations in Salem. Fearing for his life due to enmity with certain individuals in Salem, John had moved to Tiruppur to his father-in-law’s house, police said.
On Wednesday afternoon, John and his wife were returning in their car to Tiruppur after appearing at the Annathanapatti police station in Salem regarding a criminal case. When the car was nearing Nasiyanur, the assailants, who were tailing the car, rammed their vehicle into John’s car from behind, forcing John to pull over.
Four gang members immediately got out of the car with sickles and hacked John to death in broad daylight. Saranya, who tried to save her husband, also sustained injuries, police said.
Accused shot in the leg in self-defence: DIG
Upon information, a Chithode police team, led by inspector P Ravi, rushed to the spot and nabbed Karthikeyan a few km away from the crime scene. Of the remaining five, two — who stayed inside the vehicle — fled on foot, and the other three escaped in their car.
Subsequently, the three accused stopped their vehicle near Pachapalli and ran into a wooded area by the roadside, police said. Police gave them a hot chase and fired three warning shots in the air.
But the gang members allegedly attacked the cops with sickles, injuring two police personnel. Following this, all the three were shot in the leg by police. They are currently being treated at the Coimbatore Government Medical College Hospital.
A search is on to nab the other two accused, police said. Speaking to reporters, the DIG V Sasimohan said, “Cops opened fire in self-defence. The injured policemen are stable.”