After the high drama at a lodge in Dindigul on Monday night, where an accomplice, identified as Sinoj of Ernakulam, of the notorious gangster ‘Varichiyur' Selvam was killed in a shootout, the police on Tuesday secured Selvam and two others and interrogated them at an undisclosed destination here.
While one person (said to be from Kerala) escaped from the lodge on Monday, two others – Varghese, son of Raphael of Vaittilla, and Ajith, son of Murali of Balari Vattam in Ernakulam – were arrested.
Their interrogation revealed that they involved in the smuggling of illicit arrack and other criminal offences. The two were wanted by the Kerala police and had been evading arrest for a long period. All the three were produced before a court here.
According to reliable sources, Superintendent of Police Asra Garg interrogated them. A press note issued by the Inspector General of Police (South Zone) stated that Selvam figured in several crimes, including three murder and five attempt to murder cases, registered against him in many police stations in southern districts and in other cities in the State.
The Madurai Rural Police had registered a case against Selvam and his accomplices a fortnight ago on a complaint from V.M. Kathiravan of Ramanathapuram district that he was kidnapped by the gang. Special teams had been formed to secure them.
Based on inputs, a team led by Tirupparankundram Inspector Jayachandran came to know that the gang was hiding in a lodge in Dindigul. Even as the team was preparing to arrest the accused, a minor scuffle prompted the police officer to open fire, in which one of the gang members was killed.
Selvam had been detained under Goondas Act seven times in the past. A highly placed source said that Selvam claimed that he was “close” to actor and Ramanathapuram Lok Sabha MP J. K. Riteesh Kumar.
Selvam is believed to have released Kathiravan on the Madurai-Ramanathapuram national highway only after the MP intervened. The MP was summoned by the police for interrogation recently in this connection, the sources added.
The source said that Selvam had developed friendship with some notorious criminals in Kerala. The latter used to steal cars from their State and handed them over to Selvam and his friends, who sold them with fake registration number plates to gullible public.
