Youth attacks constables in a bid to evade arrest in Cuddalore; Sub Inspector shoots accused on knee

A 21-year-old accused was shot on his knee by the police at Kanniyankuppam near Vriddhachalam in Cuddalore district on Tuesday after he purportedly attacked two constables in a bid to evade arrest.

The accused, identified as K. Kandavel of Pazhamalainathar Nagar in Vriddhachalam, along with his accomplices Siva alias Murugan, 20, and Balaji, 21, of the same area, went on a spree attacking four persons, including the driver of a TNSTC bus between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. on Tuesday.

Police said the accused attacked Karthik, 23, who was sleeping at a construction site and pelted stones on him. The trio, subsequently, stopped a government bus that was proceeding to Kallakurichi and assaulted the bus driver, Ganesan, with a bottle and attacked Rajendiran and Sundaramoorthy, who owned petty shops in front of the Vriddhachalam General Hospital.

Following information, a special police team led by Vriddhachalam Deputy Superintendent of Police Balakrishnan, was constituted to nab the accused. Superintendent of Police (SP) S. Jeyakumar said the team traced the accused to a cashew orchard in Kanniyankuppam where they were supposedly hiding. When confronted, Kandavel tried to escape after attacking police constables Veeramani and Velmurugan with a machete, the officer said.

In an attempt to save the constables, Sub-Inspector of Police Chandru shot Kandavel on his knee with his service pistol. The injured constables and the accused were taken to the Vriddhachalam General Hospital.

Police said Kandavel and Siva were arrested while a search has been launched to nab Balaji who is at large. A case has been registered and further investigations are on.