Coimbatore police foil burglary bid

By V.S. Palaniappan

COIMBATORE, AUG. 29. In a pre-dawn operation, the City police nabbed five armed burglars who had gained entry into a locked house on Venkatasamy Road in R.S. Puram in the small hours today.

It culminated in the police opening fire and injuring one of the burglars.

The burglars entered the bungalow of Mr. Natarajan, breaking open the rear doors. Mr. Natarajan, who was running a finance company, could not repay his depositors and his property was sealed and kept in court custody.

A watchman on duty in the next house, Mr. Muthukumarasamy, who noticed some suspicious movements and heard some noise inside the bungalow, immediately informed the R.S. Puram Police.

The Sub-Inspector, Mr. M.K. Raju, who was on night duty, rushed to the scene and alerted the control room. Officers on night patrol were alerted over wireless and more personnel mobilised swiftly.

A team led by the Assistant Commissioner (Traffic East), Mr. G.N. Vellingiri, entered the house while the others were positioned around the premises.

The team stormed the rooms where the burglars, armed with sickles and iron pipes, were breaking open almirahs and cupboards.

One of the burglars, Kannappan alias Sathish (19), attacked the Sub-Inspector, Mr. Balamurugan, with a sickle. He opened fire injuring the assailant in the left leg.

All five intruders, Kannappan (19), Asaithambi (24), Jagadeesan (21), Nagarajan (19) and Sivakumar (19), were rounded up. The injured burglar was admitted to the CMC Hospital.

The Police Commissioner, Mr. Narinder Pal Singh, lauded the team comprising Inspectors, Mr. Ashok Natarajan, Mr. Annadurai and Sub-Inspectors, Mr. Muthusamy and Mr. Veeramuthu and said that they would be rewarded with a Good Service Entry (GSE) in their service book. The Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr. N. Chenbagaraman, said the presence of mind of the Sub- Inspector had prevented the burglars attacking the police team and their escape.

The Commissioner said the Sub-Inspector opened fire in self- defence cautiously with restraint avoiding fatality and ensured the arrest of the gang. The Commissioner gave away a cash reward of Rs. 2000 to the Sub-Inspector.

He gave a reward of Rs. 1000 to the watchman who alerted the police. The Director General of Police, Mr. A. Ravindranath, already announced cash reward of Rs. 2,000 to the Sub-Inspector for bravery and Rs. 500 for all those involved in the operation, besides commendation certificates.

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