A day after two youngsters hurled country bombs at an SUV near Kamarajar Arangam on Anna Salai, the police have detained eight people for interrogation.
Police suspect it to be a fallout of a gang war as they suspect that two persons in the SUV who escaped unhurt were top gangsters in the city.
The police have secured a college student who was part of the gang that was involved in the Anna Salai attack.
Based on the information provided by him, the police will be securing one more person involved in the case.
On Tuesday evening, two youngsters on a bike hurled two bombs at a car near the Anna Flyover. The bombs did not damage the car and the driver swerved into Mayor Sundar Rao Road to escape further attacks.
The duo on the bike also sped away. While the SUV was not damaged, the crude bombs caused some damage to the frontage of shops in the area. The Teynampet police rushed to the spot and started investigation.
In the CCTV footage, two persons, likely to be in their late teens, were seen riding a bike. The police tracked down the owner of the bike and found that the vehicle was used by his son, who is absconding.
“By scrutinising the CCTV footage, we found that eight bikes had followed the car. We have identified the people involved in the crime using the vehicle registration numbers. We will arrest them soon,” said A. K. Viswanathan, City Police Commissioner.
Of the eight bikes, one had a fake registration number.
“They had followed the car from George Town Court. Two ‘A plus’ category gangsters are suspected to have been inside the SUV and the attackers reportedly belonged to the rival group,” said a police officer.
According to the police, the country bombs were made using a mixture of gunpowder, stones and glass pieces. Such explosives were first used in funeral processions. Then they began to used by anti-social elements in southern districts during the start and end of an attack. Though such bombs were used rarely until a few years ago by top gangsters to injure or maim their rivals, their usage has become more common now. “There is a need to form anti-gangster units, with young members, in every zone to curb the rowdy menace,” said a police officer.