History sheeter shot at during exchange of fire with police in Kovai

COIMBATORE: A history sheeter M Sanjay Raja was shot in leg by police in self-defence after he opened two rounds of fire, while he was taken to recover a hidden pistol in Coimbatore on Tuesday morning. Raja was taken to Karattumedu foothills to recover the pistol at around 6.30 am.

Raja, who had surrendered in a court in Egmore on February 21, was taken into custody by Coimbatore city police for killing his rival Sathyapandi, 31 from Arapalayam in Madurai, on the Siddhapudur-Nava India Road in Coimbatore on Feburary 12.

His accomplices Sanjay Kumar, Kaja Hussain, Alwin and Saful Khan, who were also involved in the murder, had also surrendered before a court in Arakkonam. During interrogation, Raja confessed to have purchased two pistols from Bihar.

On Saturday, police recovered one pistol, which he kept beneath the seat of his motorcycle in Chennai, while the other pistol was kept hidden in Karattumedu. A special police team took Raja to the secluded spot, where he made a brief search, took out a loaded pistol from beneath a stone, and suddeny fired two rounds at Inspector Krishnaleela, who tactfully moved away and hid behind a tree.

Acting swiftly, sub inspector Chandrasekar then shot Raja on his left knee and grounded him. Soon, the cops got hold of his pistol and admitted him to Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) for treatment.

DCP of Coimbatore North G Chandeesh inspected the place of gunshot and said, “Since Raja tried to escape by firing, he was nabbed by shooting in self defence.”

This is the second incident of shootout in recent days, as two accused J Joshwa, 23 from Sastri Nagar in Gandhipuram and S Gowtham, 24 from Rathinapuri were shot in their legs as they attempted to flee after attacking a cop near Mettupalayam. They were involved in the murder of a history sheeter Gokul in full public view near the court complex.