Tamil Nadu police opened fire on two accused in a murder case after they allegedly tried to escape from their custody on Monday, police officers aware of the matter said on Tuesday.
The duo tried to escape after they were caught, along with three others, in connection with the murder of a 24-year-old man near the Coimbatore district court campus, police said.
The five accused were arrested on Monday night on the basis of inputs that they were hiding in Coonoor. A special team subsequently left to nab them but the accused escaped to Kotagiri in nearby Nilgiris district, Coimbatore city commissioner V Balakrishnan said.
Coimbatore police immediately alerted their counterparts in Nilgiris district following which the latter arrested the accused and handed them over on Tuesday, Balakrishnan said.
While the accused and police were enroute from Kotagiri to Coimbatore, two of them – Joshua and Gowtham – tried to escape. They attacked police, prompting them to retaliate and open fire on them, the commissioner said.
“While nearing Mettupalayam Forest College, the two accused complained of uneasiness and vomiting,” he said.
“They said they wanted to answer nature’s call, so the police vehicle was stopped. Gowtham and Joshua started running. The police began chasing them. About 100 metres away from the car, they came across a machete near a bush and attacked officer Yusuf. He was injured in the attack. They were subsequently shot at and were injured on their legs,” he said.
The accused underwent treatment at Mettupalayam government hospital before being referred to Coimbatore medical college.
“All seven accused in the murder case have been arrested,” Balakrishnan said.
The arrested people were identified using CCTV footage and videos filmed by the public, he said.
The remaining accused were identified as Daniel, Hari, Arun Kumar, Barani and Surya.
They have been accused of murdering S Gokul on Monday afternoon when he arrived to attend a hearing in connection with a murder case against him. Gokul was accompanied by his friend Manoj.
Manoj was also assaulted by the accused and suffered a head injury, police said.
A case was registered on the basis of Manoj’s complaint.