Rajasthan police arrest aide of prime accused, detain 5 others

JAIPUR: Pali police on Thursday detained five persons in connection with the death of Chennai police inspector S Periyapandian who was shot dead during a raid attempting to arrest two key suspects in a Rs 1 crore heist from a jewellery outlet in Kolathur, Chennai, on November 16.

Meanwhile, Jodhpur police arrested Dinesh Kumar Jat, an aide of prime accused Nathu Ram Jat. "Dinesh was part of the gang that went to Chennai and decamped with the jewellery, but he was not involved in the Pali incident," said Ramesh Kumar Sharma, station house officer of Ratanada police station in Jodhpur.

Periyapandian's body was handed over to the family after the postmortem. The police said while final postmortem report is awaited, doctors say the bullet passed through his left armpit and punctured his lungs, leading to his death.

One of the injured Chennai cop said that at 2.30 am on Wednesday, a team of five stormed a hideout in Ramavas village to apprehend Nathu Ram and his aide Dinesh Chowdary. However, the occupants hurled bricks at the policemen and attacked them with sticks.

Cartridge sent to FSL for identification of revolver

Jaipur: The official added, "Periyapandian attempted to retrieve the weapon, but all of a sudden there was a gunshot and Periyapandian was lying in a pool of blood," said an official.

"They were under fierce attack and retreated, leaving Periyapandian trapped inside," the official added.

The police recovered a cartridge from the spot and has sent it to FSL to confirm the identity of the revolver which claimed Periyanandian's life. "We are trying to ascertain if it was an accidental fire or suspects snatched the weapon and shot him," Pali SP Deepak Bhargav said.

Additional Director General of Police (law and order) N R K Reddy said Chennai police acted on their own and did not inform the local police.

"We don't know why Chennai police went alone to narrow down on the suspects, without seeking the help of the local police. We are not sure who opened fire on the inspector. We can confirm only after apprehending the suspects," he said.