Criminal gangs under watch

COIMBATORE/MADURAI: The police have stepped up vigil against criminal gangs with a history of involvement in extorting ransoms from businessmen and wealthy individuals. In the last few days, as part of a special drive, police have been going after members of these gangs in Coimbatore, Madurai, Ramanathapuram, Sivaganga and other districts and put them under surveillance just to “rein them in”. “We have identified 125 such organised gangs in the State. Our officers had ‘engaged’ eight such gangs in a week. The death of a criminal from Kerala in Dindigul occurred during one such engagement with an inter-State gang,” Additional Director General of Police S George told the Express. While three extortionists, led by notorious rowdy Varichur Selvam, were arrested in the Dindigul operation, police in Coimbatore have put seven members belonging to three gangs under watch. George said the inter-State operations of Selvam were being probed since his associates were from Kerala. Madurai City Police Commissioner P Kannappan said that his personnel had arrested a seven-member gang headed by a murder accused for kidnapping two Government servants. “We have already initiated a survey to identify rowdies of neighbouring districts involved in murder cases and attempt to murders cases who have migrated to Madurai city,” he added. In Coimbatore, Police Commissioner T P Sundaramoorthy revealed that seven history-sheeters have been put under surveillance. “They were all involved in extorting ransom earlier but are lying low now,” he said. According to Hema Karunakaran, Coimbatore Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law & Order), the objective was to keep a check on their activities and to create a moral fear in them to deter them from getting into extortions in the future. “We have obtained an undertaking from five of them that they would not involve themselves in nefarious activities. We are closely watching the movements of two others,” she revealed. Meanwhile M Ramasubramanian, Deputy Inspector General of Police, Ramanathapuram Range said that three gangsters were under watch in Ramanathapuram and Sivaganga. “Though two of them are not active, we have obtained an undertaking from them,” he said. Besides, a four-member gang, led by one S Karthik, who was involved in holding kangaroo courts (katta panchayat) and extortion, was arrested today, added Ramasubramanian.