Armed gang attacks occupants, drives away with SUV at Sivarakottai village

Madurai: A five-member gang drove away with a SUV after beating up its occupants at Sivarakottai village near Thirumangalam in the small hours of Wednesday.

According to police, the gang attacked P Mariappan, Karuthapandi and Sunarapandi from Thittankudi near Kovilpatti when they were sleeping near a tank located along the Madurai- Virudhunagar four-lane highway. They immobilised them before driving away in the vehicle.

Mariappan, involved in removing firewood cut from irrigation tanks, had parked the SUV near the bund after completing his work. As they were sleeping in the car, the gang came in two motorbikes, threatened them with knives and asked for the SUV key, the police said.

Even as Mariappan was looking for the key, they inflicted him a cut injury on his left hand and forcefully took away the key. The gang then tied their legs and hands using bedsheets before escaping.

The trio managed to free themselves after about two hours and alerted the police. Mariappan was admitted to Government Rajaji Hospital for treatment.