A 24-year-old history-sheeter, who along with his aides attacked policeman Rajavelu in Royapettah on Monday night, was shot dead in an encounter by a special team of the Chennai police in Taramani on Tuesday night.
According to the police, though most members of the gang that attacked Mr. Rajavelu were arrested on Monday, Anandan and his aide Arul, the two prime accused, were absconding.
On Tuesday evening, the police received information that Anandan was hiding in Sholinganallur. A special team, headed by Mylapore DC P. Saravanan, was formed. The team also included Kotturpuram AC K.N. Sudarshan.
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According to the police, Rajavelu, who had gone to attend a call that had complained of eve-teasing in Royappettah, was brutally attacked by a gang of history-sheeters. Following this, the police arrested Mahesh, 24, Seenu, 19, Ajithkumar, 24, Velu, 25, Udaya, 23, and Aravindhan 21. However, Anandan and his aide Arul, who were the prime accused, were absconding.
On Tuesday evening, the police received information that Anandan was hiding in a paying guest accommodation in Sholinganallur. Following this, a special team was formed by City Police Commissioner A.K. Viswanathan.
The team secured Anandan, and during inquiry, they came to know that he was in possession of a walkie-talkie he had stolen from Mr. Rajavelu. “He told us that he had hidden it in a deserted location near the Central Polytechnic College in Tamarani,” said M.C. Sarangan, Additional Commissioner of Police, South.
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The team took Anandan there for recovering the walkie-talkie. Once the team reached the spot, Anandan went near a sawed off tree trunk presumably to take out hidden weapons. “He suddenly took a sharp weapon and attacked sub-inspector Ilayaraja on the hand. Seeing this, Sudarshan asked him to drop the weapon; however, Anandan tried to attack Ilayaraja again on the neck,” said Mr. Sarangan.
Mr. Sudarshan opened fire and a 9 mm bullet pierced Anandan’s chest. “He was first taken to a private hospital and then to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital where he was declared dead on arrival,” added Mr. Sarangan.
Police said that Anandan was a resident of P.M. Dargah locality in Royapettah where the policeman was assaulted. He has over 12 cases against him. The cases mostly relate to attempt to murder. Following the encounter, a large posse of policemen was deployed outside the Royapettah police station to prevent any untoward incident.