CHENNAI: Police on Tuesday busted a racket involved in the manufacture of knives and sickles, custom made on orders of criminals, with the arrest of five men at a house in Tondiarpet.
A police team led by inspector Mahavishnu and sub-inspector Satish Kumar, which made the arrests based on a specific tip, seized seven knives and swords apart from metal strips that the gang used in the manufacture following ‘lessons’ from YouTube. A magistrate court later sent Karthik, 20, Mohammad Yusuff, 22, Syed Ibrahim alias ‘Kurangu’ Syed, 28, Ranjith, 28, and Asif, 20, to jail.
Karthik, a resident of Annai Sathya Nagar in Tondiarpet, told police that he had been instructed to set up the ‘factory’ on the terrace of the house he had taken for rent, by Nagaraj alias ‘Bayangara’ Nagaraj. The gang boss, arrested earlier in a case of robbery by the RK Nagar crime wing, is at the Central Prison in Puzhal.
The RK Nagar police team members, who barged into the house, found the weapons concealed under a bed cover. They were also shocked to find in Karthik’s mobile phone an array of models of deadly, said an investigation officer. “All of them were in screenshot form and taken from the internet,” he said.
Karthik, the officer said, had been instructed by Nagaraj to assemble a crack team to help in the manufacture and gather the material required. Accordingly, he roped in Mohammad Yusuff of Sanjay Gandhi Nagar, ‘Kurangu’ Syed of Patel Nagar, Ranjith of Annai Sathya Nagar and Asi of Nethaji Nagar in Tondiarpet.
Then, Karthik told investigators during questioning, he began watching YouTube to learn the basics and techniques for making sophisticated weapons. “We planned to supply our products to various gangs in the city apart from making them as per the requirement. The swords, which are among the most sought after, ranged in length from two feet to four feet,” he said.
Inspector Maha Vishnu, who registered a case, said they planned to take Nagaraj into their custody to know more about the racket. “We will question him about his dealings with other gangs and about the various customers,” he said.
Of those arrested on Tuesday, police said, ‘Kurangu’ Syed had been involved in a hurt case and one of attempt to murder, while Yusuff was held for violating norms prescribed for those booked under Section 110 of CrPC. He was released recently after 165 days in jail.