Cops work on curbing gang clashes

Coimbatore: Sending out a strong message to the warring gangs in the city, police have arrested eight members of two rival gangs in Kamarajapuram and More Market areas near Ganapathy.
The move comes close on the heels of a four-member gang from More Market attempting to hack two youths from Kamarajapuram to death in full public view near the office of the city police commissioner at Uppilipalayam here over previous enmity.
Recalling the incident, a police officer said N Pradeep, 19, of Kamarajapuram, and his friend M Tamilvanan, 21, of Ganapathy, were attacked by the gang on May 14 when they were returning from the district court complex.
The attack was in retaliation to attack on R Santhoshkumar, 25, a loadman from Bhagat Singh Street at Moore Market near Ganapathy, by Pradeep and his friends Rajesh and Prasanth on April 1.
The Saravanampatti police had arrested Pradeep and his two friends, who were later detained under the Goondas Act, in the case. Pradeep, however, came out on bail on a condition to appear before the judicial magistrate II on a daily basis.
Pradeep and his friend were attacked by the four-member gang from More Market - M Sathiskumar alias Vellai Sathish, 25, B Hari alias Thiruttu Kosu, 25, T Dhanabal, 24, and R Surya, 24, - while they were returning home after appearing before the judicial magistrate. The gang members were later arrested.
Meanwhile, Saravanampatti police sub-inspector P Ayyasamy got a tip that another four-member gang from More Market was planning to assault youths of Kamarajapuram over previous enmity. He lodged a complaint with the Saravanampatti police, who registered a case against R Kuppuraj, 41, T Kesavan, 19, P Pradeep, 19 and R Navaneethan, of More Market, under Section 151 of the CrPC and Section 7 (1) (a) of the Criminal Law Amendment (CLA) Act and arrested them. They were later lodged in the Coimbatore Central Prison.
Another sub-inspector of police attached to Saravanampatti police station, P Bharatahiraja, got a tip that a four-member gang from Kamarajapuram was planning to assault the youths of More Market. Based on his complaint, police registered a case and arrested D Kittan alias Krishnamurthy, 28, M Tamilarasan, 27, M Gowtham, 19, and A Nandakumar, 20, and lodged them in the Coimbatore Central Prison under judicial custody.