TN cop shot dead while chasing thieves in Rajasthan, another critical

Jaipur: A police inspector from Chennai was killed in a shoot-out by thieves in Rampura village of Pali district in Rajasthan on Wednesday. The deceased has been identified as Inspector Periyapandi of Maduravoyal police station in Chennai. He was leading a team to solve a robbery case in the city.

Another inspector, Muni Sekar, sustained serious bullet injuries and was admitted in a hospital for treatment. His condition is stated to be critical, but stable.

The inspector was said to be leading a special eight-member team to nab two suspected robbers involved in 3 kg gold loot from a jewellery shop in Chennai in November. The team had arrived in a village near Rampura and conducted a raid on a brick kiln to arrest Nathuram Jat (35), one of the suspects at around 2.30 am.  

However, the policemen faced resistance from the accused and some other people who pelted stones at the police team and attacked with iron rods. 

However, the Chennai police team managed to nab Nathuram. Somehow, he snatched Periyapandi's service revolver and fired at him. The inspector died on the spot while another policeman suffered serious injuries. 

Nathuram and a few people involved in the incident were arrested, while a few others are on the run. 

There were two more accused in the gold heist– Deepa Ram and Dinesh Choudhary-- but the raid was conducted to nab Nathuram who already had six cases registered against him, according to the local police.

This is the second instance when a police team from another state has come to Rajasthan to arrest people involved in a crime in their state but didn’t inform local police or take its help.

In October, a robber was shot dead in an encounter in Jalore district by a police team from Andhra Pradesh. A woman was also killed during the police chase.