Revenue inspector escapes bid on life by sand smugglers

 Acting on a tip-off, M Karthik Kumar (34), a Revenue Inspector from Kannivadi, had gone for an inspection along with two other staffers to Moolanur. The officer there encountered three persons, identified as S Dhanabal (46), his son D Mukilan (21), and the latter’s grandfather, P Suburayan (75), scooping out sand from the river banks and hoarding it in their house located close by.

“The smugglers had stored around five units of sand in their house. A portion of the sand was already packed in bags and loaded onto their omni van to be smuggled elsewhere for selling illegally,” a cop said.

The trio, upon being intercepted, entered into an argument with the official and issued death threats to him. The Revenue Inspector then took out his mobile phone and began to videograph their clandestine act, which infuriated the smugglers and they damaged the phone, sources said. When the smugglers got into the van and tried to escape, the official tried to intercept them, but they tried to ram Karthik with the vehicle, leaving him severely injured on his shoulders and left hand, sources added.

On receiving a complaint, the Moolanur police registered a case on Thursday and arrested Suburayan, while a search is on for two of his family members. The injured Revenue Inspector was administered first aid in Dharapuram Government Hospital and later admitted in a private hospital.