In a major operation, the Greater Chennai Police nabbed three men who were part of a gang from Thoothukudi who came to the city to murder a jeweller.

Greater Chennai Police Commissioner A. Arun received an alert that a gang of history-sheeters with weapons were in the city and were planning to murder a jeweller who might live somewhere between Adambakkam and Velachery. The police did not know the identifies of the target or the accused.

A special team under Joint Commissioner of Police (South) M.R. Sibi Chakravarthi swung into action, while another team analysed call records of a suspected person who was spotted in the area. In peak hour traffic, police personnel placed iron barricades in the middle of the roads in Velachery, Madipakkam, Adambakkam, and Taramani. They intensified vehicle checks at arterial junctions.

Initially, they managed to nab a suspect near Vijayanagar Bus Stand in Velachery. Based on his inputs, the police began tracing the other accused. Mr. Chakravarthi, in plainclothes, took a motorbike from SRP Tool side and proceeded towards Velachery. Four other police personnel followed him looking for the suspects.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (St. Thomas Mount) V.R. Srinivasan took an autorickshaw from the opposite side. They quickly narrowed down the movements of the suspects.

Mr. Chakravarthi intercepted a car near Taramani and inquired two persons who were in the car. He apprehended one of them after knowing that he was from Thoothukudi. Quickly, the other police personnel reached the spot and overpowered the duo. In the operation, Mr. Chakravarthi sustained a minor injury on his hand. The suspects were taken to Velachery police station for an inquiry, and they confessed their plan.

The police named three arrested suspects as A. Vinodh, 27, of Thalamuthu Nagar, Thoothukudi, A. Balamurugan, 23, of Manali, and L. Suresh, 35, of Madhavaram.

The police said the investigation revealed that the gang planned to kidnap and murder a jeweller or his son for money. Vinodh had previous criminal cases for offences, including murder, in Thoothukudi and the other two suspects had criminal cases for offences, including kidnapping.

A senior police officer said, “There were two groups staying in different places; one group came to show the target to the other group, who were to commit the crime. We aimed to nab them before the two groups met each other.”

Further investigation is on to trace two more suspects.