Chennai: In a first in Tamil Nadu, a woman Sub-Inspector opened fire and nabbed a history-sheeter who allegedly attacked a police team on Tuesday while attempting to escape from custody near Ayanavaram in Chennai city.
The firing on Bendu Surya followed a brutal attack on a traffic police officer on Monday. Riding on a two-wheeler, Surya and his associates assaulted Shankar, a Sub Inspector engaged in vehicle inspection at Ayanavaram, with an iron rod and sped away. Later, police arrested two of the accused. However, Bendu Surya went into hiding.
Acting on the tip-off, the police arrested Surya from his elder sister's house in neighbouring Tiruvallur district. While he was escorted to Chennai on Tuesday night, Surya pleaded to stop the vehicle so that he could relieve himself. The escort team stopped the vehicle at New Avadi Road. However, soon after disembarking, the criminal suddenly attacked the police with a knife taken from a roadside juice cart and attempted to flee.
Two policemen were seriously injured in the attack. Meanwhile, Meena, attached to the Ayanavaram police station, fired in the air warning Surya to drop the knife and surrender, which was not heeded. She then shot him in the knee and nabbed him. City Police Commissioner Shankar Jiwal and Additional Commissioner of Police Prem Anand Sinha visited the injured policemen who are undergoing treatment at the Kilpauk Government Hospital where the history-sheeter is also being treated.
Explaining the shooting incident to the media, Sinha said, "Rowdy Surya attacked the two policemen on escort duty with a knife, and Sub-Inspector Meena fired in the air and warned Surya to put down the knife. Since he tried to escape, Meena shot Surya in his knee." Sinha said that many criminal cases are pending against Surya. He added that the injured policemen are receiving good treatment and are stable.
Meena's bravado has become a talking point in Tamil Nadu police circles. The way she mustered courage and caught the offender by shooting him, though not fatally has attracted a lot of praise from several officers. Former DGP of Tamil Nadu, G Thilakavathy told ETV Bharat that Sub-Inspector Meena was the first woman police officer who opened fire at the accused in Tamil Nadu.
Women police personnel are trained in handling firearms and have been part of many teams engaged in nabbing criminals who have remained elusive. But, this is the first time that a woman SI had fired a weapon on duty. This was the third instance of the Tamil Nadu police opening fire to nab accused who have either attacked the police or had engaged in daylight murder, in the last fortnight.
Earlier, in Trichy, police shot at two rowdies Durai and Somu, and caught them when they tried to flee after attacking a police party. Prior to that, a police team in Coimbatore nabbed the assailants involved in a murder in the court premises after opening fire near Ooty.
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