Tamil Nadu: Rowdy wanted in panchayat president murder case shot in leg, arrested

CHENNAI: A history-sheeter wanted in the 2022 murder of a village panchayat president was shot in the leg and arrested after he allegedly attempted to attack police personnel with a machete and escape during an arrest operation near Manimangalam in Kancheepuram district on Friday.

Police identified the accused as Mohammed Saddam Hussain, 29, a resident of Vallalar Nagar in Madambakkam. He is classified as an A-plus category rowdy and faces several pending cases, including murder.

Police said four country-made bombs, three machetes and 23 kg of ganja were seized from an abandoned house where he had been hiding in a forest area near Karasangal.

Saddam Hussain is a prime accused in the murder of Venkatesan, who was the Madambakkam panchayat president in 2022. He was arrested in connection with the case and later released on bail. He was subsequently allegedly involved in other criminal activities and ganja sales, police said.

He had allegedly failed to appear regularly before the court during the trial. Following this, the court cancelled his bail and issued a warrant for his arrest, according to police.

The Manimangalam police formed a special team to trace him. On Friday morning, the team received information that he was hiding in an isolated, dilapidated house in the Karasangal forest area.

Police surrounded the house with firearms and attempted to apprehend him. However, Saddam Hussain allegedly tried to attack the personnel with a machete. Despite warnings to surrender, he attempted to flee and allegedly made another attempt to attack the police.

Police then opened fire in self-defence, shooting him in the leg. He fell to the ground and was subsequently apprehended.

The injured accused was initially taken to the Tambaram government hospital for first aid. He was later shifted by a 108 ambulance to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in Chennai, where he is undergoing treatment.

During a search of the abandoned house, police recovered four country-made bombs, three machetes and 23 kg of ganja.

The special team is continuing its investigation to identify his associates, trace the source of the explosives and determine whether any attacks had been planned.