Tamil Nadu: History sheeter wanted in civic chief murder 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.

The police identified the accused as Mohammed Saddam Hussain (29), a resident of Vallalar Nagar in Madambakkam, an A-plus category rowdy who faces several pending cases, including murder.

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

Hussain is the 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, said the police.

As he failed to appear regularly before the court during the trial in the case, the court cancelled his bail and issued a warrant for his arrest. Following this, 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. The officials surrounded the house with firearms and attempted to apprehend him. However, 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.

The officials 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 to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in Chennai, where he is undergoing treatment.

During a search of the abandoned house, police allegedly 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 he was planning any attacks.