Thoothukudi: The police on Friday shot down a criminal, booked in 20 criminal cases, including six for murder, in an ‘encounter’ on the outskirts of Thoothukudi.
A special team was recently formed to nab V Durai Murugan (40) of Kootampuli near Sawyerpuram as he was suspected of murdering Jegadeesan (23), a flower vendor from Pavoorchatiram in Tenkasi. Jegadeesan’s body was exhumed at Tuckerammalpuram in Tirunelveli on Monday.
The police caught hold of Durai Murugan on Friday afternoon after coming to know of his hideout at Pottalkadu Muthiahpuram village. ‘When an SI and three other constables went to arrest Durai, he resisted the arrest and attacked one of the constables and SI with a machete, thus forcing the police to open fire at the history-sheeter,’ Superintendent of Police S Jayakumar said.
Durai Murugan had over 35 cases pending against him, including four murder cases in Thoothukudi district, and one murder case each in Madurai, Tiruvannamalai and Tirunelveli. He was released from prison after four years on this 3 September.
This is the second ‘encounter’ in the State this week. A thief from Jharkhand, who robbed a woman of her chain at gunpoint, was gunned down in Kancheepuram last Monday.