Shahul Hameed alias Left Sahul (32) did not think that he would be caught when he went into hiding in a pond adjacent to the small hill Chinna Pothai in Tenkasi last week. He jumped from one rock to another and dove into the water when the police spotted him. However, Tenkasi police took the game up a notch and deployed two drones on the spot to look at Shahul's strategy.
The high-resolution drones spotted him hiding in the marshy water, which helped the police surround him on all sides. Speaking to TNM, a police personnel said that Shahul had a billhook knife on him and after prompting him to drop the weapon and surrender, he complied after seeing that he was surrounded on all sides and there was no escape.
Visuals showed Shahul coming to the surface of the pond and going back inside amidst deep thickets and plant growth. Later, four policemen with their pants hitched up and wearing white vests can be seen slowly wading through the water and bringing Shahul out.
Watch: Tamil Nadu police use drone to hunt down history-sheeter
According to police sources from the station, Shahul Hameed is a history sheeter with three previous cases, all for creating problems and physically assaulting the locals. Meanwhile, he was attacked by the locals and warned not to disturb them. However, Shahul Hameed went to the Chinna Pothai area which has a pond cum marshy land of roughly 70 acres. He then claimed that the Chinna Pothai area and the pond was ‘under his control’ and no one was allowed to enter or cross it. The police also said that he threatened to murder some persons who had attacked him in the past.
It was around this time, on March 10, that 50-year-old shepherd Peer Mohammed crossed the pond and was attacked. Mohammed was admitted at the Tenkasi Government Hospital and was later referred to the Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital with serious injuries. Shahul also allegedly threatened others crossing the area, blocked the path with thickets and threatened women who came to take a bath on the other side of the pond.
“The land is completely covered with thickets and plants and water, and it was highly impossible to catch him. We would spot him on a rock, and as we tried to go near him with difficulty, he would vanish and emerge on another spot,” the police said. A team of police under inspector Balamurugan were sent to the spot, who then decided to put drones into use, on March 15.
After an extensive search, he was spotted and arrested. An FIR has been registered under Sections 341 (Punishment for wrongful restraint), 294(b) (obscene acts and songs), 324 (Voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 506(ii) (Punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and he has been remanded.
Tenkasi Superintendent of Police R Krishnaraj also took to Twitter to appreciate the police team. “When the chase gets tough, make the chase smart. The Drone unit of Tenkasi Police joins the special team of Tenkasi PS in the chase to arrest a rowdy who assaulted the public and ran into a marshy area to hide. Drone flies over the area and locates him. Congrats team! Smart chase”, he said in the tweet.
When the chase gets tough, make the chase smart. The Drone unit of Tenkasi Police joins the special team of Tenkasi PS in the chase to arrest a rowdy who assaulted the public and ran into a marshy area to hide. Drone flies over the area and locates him. Congrats team! Smart chase pic.twitter.com/EQX7aDyRrM
— Krishnaraj R (@Krishnaraj1010) March 16, 2022