Posing as students, duo rented home & makes country bombs

CHENNAI: Police on Sunday arrested two youths, including a minor boy, for allegedly making country bombs at a house at Potheri in Chengelpattu district, 30 kms from Chennai city.

The youths had rented the house by claiming to be college students. Police sources said that a lot of students from a private university in Kattankulathur rent homes and apartments in the surrounding areas. However, police were tipped off about suspicious activity in a house in Potheri, where the house was used only at night.

Based on the information, a team from Maraimalai Nagar Police raided the house on Sunday. Seeing the police, two youths who were in the house managed to scale the compound wall and fled while police rounded up the other two in the house. Police found five country bombs and materials to make country bombs in the house, which were seized along with 5 cell phones, ganja packets and motorcycle.

During enquiry, it was revealed that one of the youth is Praveen Kumar (23) of Otteri near Vandalur and another person is a 16 year old from the same neighbourhood. Preliminary investigations revealed that the gang of four had rented the house to manufacture country bombs using which they had planned to commit a murder. Praveen Kumar was produced before a magistrate and remanded in custody, while the minor boy was admitted to a government home for boys.