The Madurai police arrested six men after one of them opened fire at a toll plaza in the outskirts of the city. According to reports, around 2 pm on Thursday, a multi-utility vehicle with six passengers entered the Kappalur toll plaza, around 17 kilometres from the centre of Madurai city. At the cash counter, an altercation broke out between the passengers and the tollbooth staff after the men inside the car allegedly refused to pay the toll amount.
Angered by this, one of the men got out of the car, whipped out his pistol and opened fire at random. When the toll both staff tried to get hold of him, he ran away. The others, meanwhile, drove away in the car and escaped. The man who opened fire, Sasikumar, was caught after a few minutes as he had gone inside a house, in an attempt to hide.
Immediately after the incident, the police alerted all the toll booths and checkposts on the highway. The accused men had abandoned the car and taken a share auto. As they approached a checkpost near Usilampatti, they tried to get down from the auto and run but were nabbed by the police around 3.45 pm.
The arrested men have been identified as Dhanasekaran (Chennai), Raghupathy (Keezhakuyilkudi), ‘Vasool’ Raja (Vellore), Harikrishnan (Chennai), Karthikeyan (Perambur) and Sasikumar (Ariyamangalam). When the police conducted background check of the arrested men, they found out that Dhanasekaran and ‘Vasool’ Raja have previous record of criminal cases including murder cases against them. The men were reportedly on their way from Tirunelveli, where they had appeared in a sessions court. The police have seized four weapons, 15 live rounds and the vehicle from the gang and are questioning the men.