Special teams to augment crime detection, recovery

The City Police have formed six special teams to detect the pending cases and to increase the recovery rate from the present 62 per cent to 80 per cent before December end, said P. Sivanandi, City Police Commissioner on Wednesday.The teams would focus on two-wheeler thefts, chain/bag snatching, house breaking and resolve the pending cases.

The teams would be functioning under the direct supervision of the Deputy Commissioners of Police, P. Nagarajan (Law and Order) and N. Kamini (Crime and Traffic).Because of the visible policing and anti-chain snatching squad at over 40 places in the city, the number of incidents of two-wheeler thefts had come down to two per day as against the earlier trend of six to seven per day and incidents of chain snatching cases had come down from 25 per month to 5 per month on an average.

The city accounted for 15 lakh two-wheelers and in many instances, the police had found that the stolen two-wheelers had been used for chain snatching.Three persons S. Premkumar alias Senthilkumar (24), R. Sathishkumar (26) and Jayakumar who were involved in a number of double murder cases have been detained under Goondas Act as part of the crime prevention drive.In a bid to make the Avanashi Road six-lane traffic into a very motorist friendly system, changes are being made.Government had sanctioned funds for repainting the lanes and works would start once rain stops.

The lanes would be repainted and re-organised with the first lane next to the centre median for two-wheeler riders and second lane for cars and the third and last lane close to the road boundary for the buses to steer away at bus stops/bays.A total number of nine cameras would be fitted on the entire stretch of Avanashi Road.Efforts are on to hold discussions with the Transport Department, Transport Corporations, private bus operators, Corporation and Highways Department for shifting five bus stops on Avinashi Road that are proving to be wrongly located either close to a signal or road turning.

Once the lane painting works are completed in the next 15 to 20 days, the new lane system would be enforced.To make the roads more motorist friendly, the speed breakers at places where it was not required had been removed and in places wherever it was required, they have been redone to make it friendly and easy to manoeuvre.

No-Horn Zone

As done in developed countries and metropolitan cities, the City Police have planned to conduct a area-wise study and based on public feedback, suggestions and opinion of motorists some pockets in the city would be turned into a no- horn zone.

Crime graph down, accident rate up in West Zone

The crime rate has come down considerably in the West Zone while the fatal accident rate has gone up by 7 per cent during the period from January 1 to October 2009 compared to the corresponding period last year, Pramod Kumar, Inspector-General of Police, West Zone said on Friday.

Mr. Kumar held a review meeting of the performance of unit officers in west zone which was attended by the Deputy Inspectors-General of Police, Salem and Coimbatore ranges and the Superintendents of Police, the Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Tirupur, Erode, Namakkal, Salem, Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri.A review of the statistics with regard to property crimes revealed that murder for gain remained at 22 during both the periods, dacoity had come down by 16 per cent, grouping for dacoity had come down by 56 per cent, robbery was down by 18 per cent, burglary had increased by 2 per cent while theft had come down by 8 per cent. In total, the average fall in crime rate in this category was 5 per cent.

With regard to violent crimes, murder had come down by 15 per cent, attempt to commit murder had come down by 30 per cent, culpable homicide not amounting to murder was up by 13 per cent, injury cases were down by 32 per cent and riot cases were down by 32 per cent.The average fall in crime rate in this category was 27 per cent.With regard to crime against women, rape cases were down by 20 per cent, dowry death by 6 per cent and molestation cases were down by 45 per cent.

Cases of sexual harassment continued to remain at 38 cases in both the periods, cruelty by husband and relatives was down by 35 per cent and kidnapping/abduction of women and girls were down by 9 per cent.The crime against women category was down by 31 per cent in total.In the other major crimes category, kidnapping and abduction was up by 24 per cent, criminal breach of trust was down by 39 per cent, cases of arson was down by 17 per cent, cases of cheating had increased by 10 per cent, cases of counterfeiting had increased by 73 per cent, fatal road accident cases had gone up by seven per cent, non-fatal cases had come down by 3 per cent and other Indian Penal Code related crime cases were down by 29 per cent.

In total, there was a fall of cases by 13 per cent. With regard to IPC cases, there was an overall fall of 16 per cent and cases relating to special legislations were down by 4 per cent.The zone as on date had 17,723 under investigation cases and 52,665 pending trial cases.

2 Held for smuggling sandal wood

The Pollachi police on Wednesday night intercepted a car, arrested two persons transporting 100 kg of sandalwood in four gunny bags and seized Rs.40,000 found in one of the bags.

Inquiries revealed that the sandalwood was purchased from a person at Manupatti in Udumalpet and was being taken to a consignee in Namakkal district.The arrested were identified as Ramraj (34) of Udumalpet and Ramar (38) of Dharmapuri.

The car belonged to another person in Palladam area.

Eight held during drive against criminals

City Police have arrested eight persons with criminal antecedents during a special drive conducted against criminal elements in the last three days.Talking to reporters, City Police Commissioner P. Sivanandi said that to combat incidents of crime, crime control drive was stepped up across the city. Special teams functioned under the direct supervision of Deputy Commissioners of Police P. Nagarajan (Law and Order) and N. Kamini (Crime and Traffic). The teams were led by Assistant Commissioners of Police L. Balaji Saravanan and Suresh.

The teams on October 14 nabbed two persons R. Satish alias Sathishkumar (26) and S. Prem alias Premkumar alias Senthilkumar (29) of Okkilaiar Street on charges of waylaying and robbing R. Rajan (39) of Periyar Nagar on Pankaja Mill Road of Rs.500 and wrist watch at knife point.Special teams intercepted Balaji alias Balasubramanian, Hari and Anand alias Poonaikan Anand. The trio were in the habit of robbing people at knife point and used to overpower resistance if any, by spraying chilli powder.

During investigation into waylaying and robbery case in Sai Baba Colony police limits, special police teams intercepted Jayakumar (28), Chellamuthu and Kumar. Enquiries revealed that the trio was involved in the murder of Karpagavalli. The body was dumped in a canal in Kamanaickenpalayam, near Palladam, in 2006.Mr. Sivanandi exhorted the public to be cautious while entertaining strangers.

Install cams tells police to bankers !

City Police Commissioner P. Sivanandi on Tuesday urged bankers across the city to step up vigil on their premises by installing surveillance cameras to ensure secured atmosphere for their customers.He visited the branch premises of a bank on Oppanakkara Street where Prakash, an accountant of a metal firm, was robbed of Rs. 5 lakh on Monday morning.

Mr. Sivanandi said that the surveillance cameras had captured the image of a person walking away with the cash bag.With this evidence the police were confident of apprehending the accused within the next 48 to 72 hours.

Eye-opener

Mr. Sivanandi told that the incident should be an eye-opener for the banks to enhance security systems and vigil both inside and outside the bank premises. The very presence of such systems would bring down the crime rate, he said.Mr. Sivanandi said that Deputy Commissioners of Police P. Nagarajan (Law and Order) and N. Kamini (Crime and Traffic) had been asked to speak to all banks through their Assistant Commissioners and Inspectors on the need for stepping up vigil in and around the bank premises.

All banks should have surveillance cameras in the public area as well as the staff area, besides cash safe vault room and safety locker areas in addition to a few outside the banks to see whether any gang indulged in planning. Such cameras would also help zeroing in on suspects even after committing the offences.

ATM kiosks

Similarly, not just for the safety of the cash but also for that of the customers visiting the bank, all ATM kiosks should be equipped with cameras, he said.The police would sensitise the bankers to these issues and were confident of getting the co-operation of the bankers in bringing down the crime rate, Mr. Sivanandi said.

Sand and Rice Seized ..

Vehicle checks in the rural police limits early on Monday led to the seizure of sand and rice being smuggled to Kerala.According to a press release, a team intercepted three lorries with Karnataka registration at Govindanaickenur and found that sand was being smuggled in these vehicles.

The drivers of the vehicles, D. Devaran (29), D. Prabhu (24) and S. Saravanan (33) and cleaners N. Perumal (24) and M. Karunakaran (22) were arrested.Another police team at Mangalakaraipudur intercepted a van and seized from it 40 bags of rice meant for supply under the public distribution system.

Police said the rice was being smuggled to Kerala.The driver of the vehicle, S. David (35) was arrested.On information provided by him, police searched the house of M. Ganesan of Karamadai and found 60 bags of rice. Police arrested S. Mohanraj (34), M. Selvam (35), M. Veerabadhran (32), S. Ayyasamy (38) and S. Thangaraj (65) for their alleged role in rice smuggling.

Nigirian Fraud arrested !

The Crime Branch sleuths of the Coimbatore City Police on Thursday arrested a Nigerian national Odiegwu Nnamdi Jude (30) on charges of cheating a businessman in Coimbatore.

Mahadevan (38) of Peelamedu engaged in repairing and servicing textile mill machinery received a Short Message Service (SMS) on his phone on September 17 stating that he had chosen for a lottery prize of two lakh pounds. When he responded to the SMS, he was given an e-mail address to contact the processing agent to collect his prize. On sending an e-mail, Mahadevan was asked to remit Rs.31,583 towards processing charges and customs clearance to get the prize money. Accordingly, the complainant deposited the sum in the account number provided. When the complainant asked for the prize money by sending an e-mail he was asked to immediately come to Mumbai.

On reaching Mumbai, when he called the particular mobile number, Mahadevan was asked to remit another Rs.1.05 lakhs said to be for scanning charges. He paid the money and when there was no response from the other end, the complainant turned suspicious and preferred a complaint with the police.The complainant was asked to continue his negotiations with the processing agent. Finally, the agent said that his representative would come to Coimbatore to hand over the money. Immediately a trap was laid and the police waited at Gandhipuram bus stand and nabbed Odiegwu Nnamdi Jude.

Police found a gadget that resembled a phone, a mini locker, bundles of black colour and white colour papers and chemical substances in his luggage. He was taken into custody and the Police have registered a case against the Nigerian national under sections 419 and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code.Efforts are on to verify the transactions of the bank account, in which Mahadevan had remitted the money. Police said that the accused nabbed on Thursday could just be an agent and there could be a large network operating across the country.

Women killed and house burgerled !

A 37-year-old woman, Akila, was found dead in a pool of blood at her residence in Kumaran Nagar in Ganapathy area on Tuesday afternoon.Preliminary investigation revealed that the bureau in the house had been broken open and gold jewels weighing more than 10 sovereigns were missing.

The mangalsutra of the victim, besides a sum of money had been taken away as well.Akila had suffered a head injury, probably as a result of an attack with an iron rod, the investigation revealed.The victim’s husband Kalaiselvan (40) an engineer with the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board, found the victim dead when he came home for lunch.

Victim

The victim used to stay alone at home after sending their eight-year-old girl to school.City Police Commissioner, P. Sivanandi, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order), P. Nagarajan along with forensic experts visited the scene of the crime.

Special teams have been constituted to investigate the case.

6.5 Crore worth drugs siezed in a day !!!

The industrial city of Coimbatore is turning into a major drug trafficking hub in Tamil Nadu as a whopping 6.5 kg of narcotics worth about Rs 6.5 crore in the international market was seized in three separate hauls from 10 persons within 24 hours on Monday.

The sleuths of the Narcotics Intelligence Bureau (NIB) and the City police spread a dragnet for the drug network following a tip-off that a gang had descended on Coimbatore with packets of heroin and brown sugar or smack, which is a drug made from the resins of poppy. Ten drug traffickers who were trying to sell heroin packets with labels stating “100% Afghanistan” have been arrested.
Police said the gang members were from Namakkal and are suspected to have sourced the heroin from drug dealers in Andhra Pradesh. “As the police have tightened the vigil in other parts of Tamil Nadu, the drug dealers are making a desperate attempt to sell the heroin in Coimbatore,” the NIB DSP, K Ramasamy told . On Monday morning, a team of city police personnel lay in wait at the bus stop near the Coimbatore government Medical College Hospital while the NIB sleuths hung around the crowded Gandhipuram bus terminal.

With a bag tucked in their hands, three persons descended on the bus stop near the government hospital around noon and the city police swooped down on them. The trio, Ravi, Buvaneshwar and Vinoth, from Namakkal district were taken into custody and one kilo of heroin was seized from them. During interrogation, they revealed that five more drug traffickers were doing the rounds in the city. They were arrested on Tuesday morning and another one kilo of heroin was seized from them.

A few hours later, the NIB sleuths picked up two persons, Thangaraj (38) and Loganathan (44), who hail from Tiruchengode taluk of Namakkal district and seized about 4.5 kgs of heroin valued at Rs. 4.5 crore in the international market. In suburban Coimbatore, Kavundampalayam and Thudiyalur areas are known ganja dens where drug sellers are said to have a free run.

Tusks seized at valparai

The Forests Department has seized two elephant tusks from a man near a tea estate at Valparai and apprehended three persons.Conservator of Forests and Field Director of Anamalai Tiger Reserve S. Basavaraju ordered special patrolling following a tip-off that tusks were being smuggled out of the Valparai area.

During patrolling at the Waverly Junction, Forest Ranger M. Lakshmanaswamy, Forester P. Mohammed Ali and Forest Guard A. Abdul Sattar found C. Jayakumar (36) waiting there with a sack.They opened the sack to find two tusks, one measuring 110 cm and another 108 cm.On being questioned, Jayakumar, who was a temporary driver in a tea estate, said that he had got the tusks from two workers of the estate, S. Ramu (30) and S. Nagarajan (40).

The workers said they found the tusks in the forests while on a search for honey.They brought the tusks to the estate and hid these among tea bushes.They asked Jayakumar to sell these in Pollachi. Jayakumar, however, was caught while heading for Pollachi to sell the tusks.

Guns , Sand siezed in combing operation !

Police in West Zone have seized 76 unlicenced guns from the districts in the zone during surprise checks over the last few days to detect unlicenced possession of firearms.A bulk of the cases of unlicenced possession of firearms was from Dharmapuri District, Inspector-General of Police (West Zone) Pramod Kumar told presspersons here on Monday.

Of these firearms, 25 were seized on Monday from Sitteri Village under Harur Police limits in Dharmapuri District, the official said.Cases have been registered against those who possessed these weapons.Some of them had said that they had used the guns for hunting.

Lorries

Mr. Pramod Kumar said five lorries smuggling sand from out of the State were intercepted during a combing operation that was carried out from 6 p.m. on Sunday to 6 a.m. on Monday.Four lorries were intercepted at Thuvalai in the Nilgiris District and one in Krishnagiri.Mr. Pramod Kumar said 15,000 police personnel in Coimbatore, Erode, Tirupur, Salem, the Nilgiris, Namakkal, Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri districts were involved in the combing operation.

The official said 12 persons were arrested on charges of smuggling sand and they included the owners, drivers and cleaners of the lorries.The official said 152 non-bailable warrants had been executed against persons involved in various criminal cases and five of these were persons who had been hunted for long by the police.As many as 594 persons had been taken into preventive custody, 81 persons booked for gambling and 13 for video piracy. Besides, 55 rowdy elements were also arrested.

As per Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi’s instructions at a meeting on June 27 to establish check-posts on inter-State borders to check sand and rice smuggling, 54 check-posts were put up in eight districts.This had led to the seizure of 75,790 kg of rice.Of the total 125 cases registered, 34 pertained to rice smuggling and the rest were in connection with sand smuggling.Totally, 268 persons were arrested for both offences and 141 vehicles seized.

Panels

The police also formed communal harmony committees, consisting of members of the public, in 696 villages. Similarly, Terrorism Prevention Committees were also formed in these districts (with numbers of brackets): Coimbatore (26), Dharmapuri (38), the Nilgiris (23), Erode (13), Tirupur (3) and Salem (3).

Both the committees had been formed to involve the public in supplementing the police’s efforts to prevent communal strife and extremist acitivities.The members of the second committee had been asked to inform the police of any movement of extremists in their locality.

A sustained drive by the police had led to 120 villages in Krishnagiri District and 40 in Dharmpuri District becoming arrack-free.

Walkie - Talkie for Constables !

Seventy-five Very High Frequency (VHF) walkie-talkie sets have been given to policemen on cycle patrol in all the 15 police station limits here on Thursday.Commissioner of Police, Coimbatore City, P. Sivanandi handed over the sets to the policemen. Deputy Commissioners of Police N. Kamini (Crime and Traffic) and P. Nagarajan (Headquarters) were present.

Mr. Sivanandi told reporters that for the first time in the State beat constables were being provided with the equipment to facilitate swift reaction in the event of an accident or crime.Communication gap between constables on patrol duty and police stations/control room had been a problem for long. Till date, the constables had to reach out to a public call office or request people in the area for a phone to call the control room or police station.

With the walkie-talkie sets being given at an outlay of Rs. 10 lakh, it would be easier for the police force to prevent and detect crimes and also prevent law and order problems. The Commissioner asked the officers to impart training to enable the constables to effectively communicate through the sets.

Five held for waylaying

The Coimbatore Rural Police have arrested five persons for allegedly waylaying people. A press release from the police said knives, iron rods and chilli powder were seized from them.

A team from the Kinathukadavu Police Station surrounded Arun (26), Malarvannan alias Narasimhan (29), Sathishkumar (25), Karthik (26) and Saravanakumar (26) when they were standing near a vehicle on Kondampatti Road in the early hours of Saturday. Police said that on being questioned, the five admitted to have planned to waylay people.

It was also found that Arun had 12 cases of dacoity and sandalwood theft against him. Narasimhan and Sathishkumar had a case of assaulting a car driver and stealing the car against them in the Mettupalayam Police Station. Karthik had cases of robbery registered against him in Vadavalli Police Station, the release said. All the five were remanded to judicial custody.

Special teams formed

Under instructions from Inspector General of Police (West Zone) Pramod Kumar, special teams have been formed to nab those involved in the murder of a watchman while trying to loot the Primary Agricultural Co-operative Bank at Kurunellipalayam near Kinathukadavu.

A gang allegedly strangled the watchman, but it could not take away cash and jewellery from the bank as the alarm went off.

Radiologist held for cheating

The police on Thursday arrested a 57-year-old radiologist for cheating a doctor after promising to get her Rs 1,000 crore from atrust inFrance to build a multi-speciality hospital in Chennai. She collected Rs 1.13 crore from the doctor for processing the huge loan.

"The radiologist, R Mayaram, who had similarly cheated at least 37 persons across India had told them that she had got Rs 55,000 crore from a private trust in France for investing in goodwill projects in India. We are expecting more such complaints," assistant commissioner of police (credit card fraud detection wing) M Paneer Selvam told .

Mayaram, who had been evading arrest since 2007, was nabbed in Coimbatore. Two cars, a computer, Rs 50,000 in cash and important documents were recovered from her. She was booked for cheating and remanded in Puzhal prison.According to the police, Mayaram began her career in the radiology department of the Government General Hospital in Chennai. With dreams of becoming rich quick, she started a catering service in Thiruvanmiyur and later, after quitting her job, a consultancy. She posed as a rich woman, especially before doctors and others at the GH. She spun fantastic stories about her business.

Believing her, Dr Chitra of the Institute of Child Health Hospital in Egmore decided to invest in her business. Mayaram told her that the Bhickna Pahari Trust of France had sent Rs 55,000 crore to a State Bank of India branch in Delhi for funding welfare projects in India. Dr Chitra then told her of her plan to build a Rs 1,000-crore hospital in Chennai. To process the funds for the project, Mayaram collected Rs 1.13 crore from Dr Chitra, but soon began dodging her. After a while, Mayaram said the trust head was dead and hence the delay in sanctioning the fund.

Chitra then lodged a complaint in 2007 with the city police commissioner who forwarded it to the central crime branch. "We registered a case and launched a hunt. Mayaram had fled the city and hid in Coimbatore and Tenkasi. After closely monitoring her movements, the special team nabbed her in Coimbatore on Thursday. People should not believe those making such promises. In this case, Mayaram had actually told Dr Chitra that she didn't have to repay the huge loan after it was processed," Paneer Selvam said.

A Student and His friend arrested ..

A student’s attempt to write an examination on behalf of his friend has landed both of them in jail.Arulkarthik (22), doing his Masters in Computer Applications in a private college near the city, attempted to write an examination for his friend Jayaprakash (22) to clear an arrear in one of the subjects the latter had while doing his final year undergraduate course.According to the police, as Jayaprakash was working in a private company in Chennai, the two decided that Arulkarthik would write the examination. Arulkarthik affixed his photo on the hall ticket in place of that of Jayaprakash.

But, an examination supervisor from Anna University got suspicious during a check at the examination hall. On verification, he found that Arulkarthik was not the actual candidate.
A complaint was made with the Kuniamuthur Police and the two were arrested, the police said.

One arrested on cheating charges

The Organised Crime Unit of the Crime Branch – Central Investigation Department (CB-CID) arrested a person on the charges of cheating 300 persons to the tune of Rs. 160 each.The accused is identified as Saravanan Karuppasamy, who claimed himself to be the Chief Executive Officer of World Human Rights Commission.On February 7, he called for a press conference at the Coimbatore Press Club.

Following doubts about his credentials, the mediapersons informed the Race Course Police and preferred a complaint.Even as the inquiries were on, the district administration preferred a complaint against him for using two rooms at the Circuit House by claiming himself to be an official from a Government agency. The accused obtained anticipatory bail in this case.The case was transferred to the CB-CID under instructions from the State Human Rights Commission, which took suo moto cognisance of the incident through media reports.

Additional Director-General of Police Archana Ramasundaram, Inspector-General of Police K.P. Mahendran and DIG of Police S.N. Seshasayee ordered an inquiry into the incident under the supervision of Superintendent of Police A. Arun.Deputy Superintendent of Police Sambasivam and Inspector Cedric Manuel took up investigations.The investigations led to V. Krishnakumar (34) of Kattur who had complained that Saravanan Karuppasamy along with Dr.Sakthi visited Coimbatore several times and had collected Rs. 160 each as subscription from 300 persons running close to Rs. 1 lakh.

Based on the complaint, the CB-CID registered a case and arrested him.He was remanded to judicial custody.The police added that the accused had visited Mettupalayam, Valparai, Madurai, Chennai and cheated many persons.Public are requested to be cautious about such fraudulent persons.In the event of any information, they can contact 2303302 and mobile number 99942-77774.

HC orders DVAC probe into robbery by inspector

Not satisfied with the progress in investigation against a police inspector accused of robbing a man of Rs 25 lakh, the Madras high court ordered a probe by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC).

Describing it as a peculiar case which required to be investigated by the DVAC, Justice R Regupathi asked the deputy superintendent of police, Kovilpalayam, Coimbatore, to transmit the case diary and other records to the DVAC director. The latter shall, having regard to the seriousness of the allegations made against the accused inspector (under suspension), appoint a competent officer to investigate the charges and conclude the probe as expeditiously as possible.

The judge was passing orders on a petition from E V Vasavan, who said had gone to Coimbatore on December 12, 2008 to Coimbatore with Rs 25 lakh in cash to make a land purchase at Mettupalayam. However, while he was talking to a , Inspector Dhanapalan , Kovilpalayam, forcibly snatched his car key and took the vehicle away with the cash in it, Vasavan said.

The petitioner further alleged that at the police station, the inspector had threatened to foist a case of carrying unaccounted money or carrying counterfeit notes, if he asked for the money back. Vasavan alleged that the inspector and the broker had already conspired to rob him of the money.

However, the inspector could not get away with it, as the SP, DVAC, made an initial probe and informed the DIG, Coimbatore about the inspector's act. The Coimbatore police recovered Rs 4.99 lakh from him. Counsel for the petitioner contended that the investigation was not satisfactory as the probe officer was a superior officer in the same station as the accused inspector. Two other suspects were yet to be arrested and the remaining sum of money was yet to be recovered, he said.

In his order, the judge said there was a wealth of materials to show the inspector had, under the guise of investigation, indulged in robbery while on duty. Even though the DIG had acted with alacrity and commitment in conducting a probe, a lull had set in thereafter. The pace at which the probe was moving was unusually sluggish, he said, and ordered an expeditious investigation by the DVAC.

5 Students suspended in ragging case !!

Three police teams have rushed to Kerala to nab five students of the PSG College of Arts and Science who were allegedly involved in a ragging incident.

A first-year BBM student of PSG College of Arts and science, S P Akhildev (20), had lodged a complaint against Aswin, Ajmal, Arjun, Mihashil, Shameer with the city police commissioner on Friday alleging that his eyes were damaged and jaw broken in a “brutal assault” on him by five seniors of his college on the night of March 7. The student, who underwent an eye surgery, had lodged a 15-page written complaint with commissioner of police KC Mahali on Friday. Following the complaint on Saturday, the Peelamedu (B6) police registered five cases of ragging and criminal assault against the students. Cases were booked under IPC sections 323 (Physical assault), 353 (Abuse), 427, 506/2 and section 4 of 1997 Ragging act.

Mahali told presspersons on Saturday that three teams have been formed to nab the students. The college had already suspended the students. Meanwhile, volunteers of the Students Federation of India (SFI) resorted to a ‘road roko’ in front of the collector’s office here demanding action against the PSG management and staff.

In his complaint, Akhil Dev alleged that five of his college mates had “forcibly entered’ a private hostel room near the college and attacked him. After a month-long medical treatment and wait for the college management to act against the assaulters, the college student lodged a complaint with the city police commissioner. The PSG college principal, Dr Sheela Ramachandran had told that the five students had been suspended “pending a detailed enquiry.”

Akhil Dev claimed that the boys had come into his hostel room around 11 p.m and asked him to undress. When he refused, they asked him to lick their boots, said the youth. He alleged that his seniors had hit his eyes and brutally assaulted him resulting in serious injuries to his eyes and head. The boy had to undergo a surgery in the eye to plug the multiple “holes in the retina” caused by the injury.

2 Arrested for theft !

Within 48 hours, special police special teams arrested two persons and recovered stolen property worth over Rs. 24 lakh that included car registration certificates, diamonds and a luxury car from the house of a businessman in R.S. Puram.

On April 8, Sampath Bohra, a businessman in R.S. Puram, reported theft of properties. City Police Commissioner, K.C. Mahali and Deputy Commissioner of Police, Crime and Traffic, N. Kamini, constituted special police teams led by Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime West– R. Chakravarthy). The teams led by Inspector Charles, Govindaraj and Sub-Inspector Ramesh fanned out in different directions and suspected the driver Suryaraman (30) and Vijaykumar (31). The duo stole the luxury car, diamonds and 125 registration certificates of cars. The incident took place on April 7 and was reported on April 8. The investigations that began on April 9 led to tracking down of the accused in Tiruchi on April 11. The police have registered cases against the duo under sections 454 (lurking house trespass) and 380 (theft from a dwelling house) of Indian Penal Code.