14 horses detained with carts prior to rekla race on Outer Ring Road

Indulging in drag racing with bikes and autorickshaws seems to have become a passé as the city police booked 14 men for trying to hold a rekla race on the Outer Ring Road in the wee hours of Sunday. As many as 14 horses with carts and 10 mini-trucks were seized from the accused who were booked and released on station bail along with the horses.

Ambattur Deputy Commissioner J Mahesh received information that people have gathered on the outer ring road with horses to hold a race and sent a team to Veerapuram near Morai around 3 am. The police team found men preparing the carts to hold the race and secured them. Inquiry revealed that the race was planned at Oragadam near Sriperumpudur sans permission and since the event was cancelled, they decided to shift the racecourse to the outer ring road.

The plan was to hold the race for about 6.5 km from Veerapuram

Murugan temple to Pandeswaram village in Tiruvallur district. “The men were part of a WhatsApp group called Tamil Nadu Kuthirai Sangam and one Arun posted a message that the race could be held on the Outer Ring Road after which the participants reached the venue in the wee hours,” said police.

The arrested were from areas like Tambaram, Pammal, Kundrathur, Manali, Tondiarpet and Red Hills. “The trucks and the carts will be produced before the magistrate,” said police. Those arrested were identified as Mohammed Arban (25), Parthasarathy (36), Madurai (55), Gunasekaran (24), Balaji (35), Naresh (40), Dinesh (27), Jeyachandran (31), Pachaiyappan (35), Prabakaran (34), Ruban (24), Venu (42), Ajith (25) and Selvam (21). They were booked under Sections 269 of IPC and 11 of the Animal Cruelty Act.