Coimbatore police form special team to nab woman who posted on Instagram videos of her wielding weapons

COIMBATORE: The Coimbatore city police have formed a special team to nab a young woman who posted videos on her Instagram page -- called Fans call me Thamana -- in which she is seen wielding deadly weapons.
Police said Vinothini alias Thamana, 23, hailing from Virudhunagar district was an active member of the Praga Brothers Instagram page where a group of youths posted videos holding deadly weapons. Kamarajapuram Gowtham, a notorious gangster and his team members, were active on the Instagram page. The videos were posted to threaten rival gangs, police said.
Coimbatore city commissioner of police V Balakrishnan said the woman, who was arrested in 2021 for possessing ganja, befriended youth belonging to wealthy families and extorted money from them with the help of her friends who were seen in many videos with her. "She has been trying to promote enmity between two rival groups through the videos. We will arrest her and send her to jail," said Balakrishnan.
The city police arrested 56 rowdy elements, mostly close aides of Gowtham, in the last two months. Of the 56 rowdy elements, many of them posted videos on Instagram pages. "We have been taking stringent action against the people who have been posting such videos on their Instagram pages,” Balakrishnan said.
In June 2021, the Peelamedu police arrested Vinothini and M Surya alias Suryaprasath, 23, of Periyar Nagar near Nehru Nagar (East) for possession of two kg and 250 gram of ganja. Police said Vinothini, who had completed a diploma in nursing, befriended Surya through Instagram in 2021 and they had had links with ganja peddlers.