Maduravoyal police inspector S. Periapandian, 47, was shot dead in a village in Rajasthan while trying to nab the accused in the Kolathur pawn shop burglary that took place in November. Another inspector and three constables from Chennai were injured in the incident.
Mr. Periapandian, Kolathur inspector T. M. Munisekar, 47, and three head constables — S. Gurumurthy, 40, M. Ambrose, 40, and Grade I constable M. Sudharshan, 33 — were camping in Jaitaran, Pali district, for nearly a week.
They were in pursuit of a gang of burglars who stole 3.5 kg gold jewellery by drilling a hole in the ceiling of a pawn shop in Kolathur.
On November 29, the team went to Rajasthan and arrested suspects Chennaram, Kelaram, Dhanwarji and Shankarlal who did the recce before the burglary. Based on information they provided, the team went to Jaitaran to nab the main accused Nathuram, Divaram alias Tippu, and Manjula, and recover the jewellery.
On Tuesday midnight, Periapandian and others received information that the main suspects were holed up in the nearby Karolia village in Pali district. At 2.30 a.m, the five-member police team surrounded the accused with the help of an informer.
“They searched the godown-like premises. When they caught the accused, over 10 persons including a few women obstructed their path, preventing them from going out. They attacked the team with logs. In the melee, Mr. Munisekar’s 9 mm pistol fell down, and one of the accused seized the weapon and shot at inspector Periapandian. The bullet pierced his right chest,” said sources.
The last rites of Mr. Periapandian are expected to be done at his hometown in Tirunelveli on Thursday.
