Ex-cop threatens elderly woman, nabbed

CHENNAI: A 56-year-old former policeman has been arrested for allegedly threatening an 86-year-old woman in Anna Nagar on Tuesday. The accused, J David Anandraj of Mel Ayanambakkam, was a head constable attached to Elephant Gate police station and had not reported to work since 2018.

“On Tuesday afternoon, Anandraj reached the victim, Sridevi Unnithan’s house, along with two others. He was wearing an inspector’s uniform and allegedly threatened her saying that he had come to arrest her since she encroached upon a 23-cent-land in Ayanambakkam,” said a police officer. Sridevi’s grandson, Sailesh, confronted the trio and told them that he would inform the police if they did not vacate the house immediately.

While the trio fled the spot in an autorickshaw, Sailesh managed to secure Anandraj with the help of traffic police personnel. The other two managed to escape. Investigation revealed that Anandraj had been continuously harassing the senior citizen to grab her land. The police added that he had already been arrested by the Thiruverkadu police a couple of months ago after he assaulted a security guard of Sridevi’s land. The accused was remanded to judicial custody and a hunt is on for the absconding.