The Red Hills police on Monday arrested a businessman who opened fire at police personnel following a heated argument on Sunday.
Ramanathan, 55, is the vice-president of the Akila Bharatha Hindu Maha Sabha. He is a resident of Mondiamman Nagar, Padiyanallur, whose business is based in Red Hills.
Vetrivel, 30, a constable of the Armed Police from Solaiamman Nagar, was standing near a vacant plot belonging to Ramanathan and was talking with his friends.
Ramanathan questioned Vetrivel about their presence.
The police said the conversation escalated into a scuffle between the two men.
In a fit of anger, Ramanathan went to his car and brought a gun to intimidate the men and fired into the ground. Mr. Vetrivel alerted the police control room.
Personnel from the Red Hills police station reached the spot. Ramanathan was nabbed and taken to the station for an inquiry.
He told police that he had a licence for the gun and was trying to scare them away but it went off accidentally.
Criminal history
However, further investigation revealed that he had bought the gun from Manipur and did not have a valid licence.
He also had criminal cases against him for smuggling red sanders logs from Andhra Pradesh. In addition, he and his brothers opened fire while travelling on a bus in Red Hills nearly ten years ago.
