Special sub-inspector hacked to death by goat thieves in Tamil Nadu

In a shocking incident, a 50-year-old Special Sub-inspector (SSI) was hacked to death by “goat thieves” in the wee hours of Sunday in Pudukkottai district following a chase by the policeman who saw the gang of men stealing goats during his routine patrol.

S Boominathan worked as a Special Sub-inspector of Police with the Navalpattu police station in Tiruchirappalli district, where cattle and goat thieving is rampant.

Police said the SSI tried to stop them but the gang fled in their motorcycles and entered the neighbouring Pudukkottai district. “CCTV footages suggest that two persons of the gang were stuck in a waterlogged subway where they were confronted by the SSI. A few minutes later, CCTV footages from a different location show the men escaping in their two-wheeler,” a police official said.

The official added that it is suspected that the “goat thieves” hacked the SSI near the subway in Keeranur police station limits off the Tiruchirappalli-Pudukkottai National Highway.

The thieves are alleged to have hacked the SSI using a machete and fled the area. Pudukkottai District Superintendent of Police (SP) Nisha Parthiban said in a message to the DGP that the SSI was hacked to death by “goat theft accused”. The SSI is survived by a 45-year-old wife and a 21-year-old son.

Tamil Nadu BJP chief and ex-Karnataka cadre IPS officer K Annamalai condemned the killing of the SSI and said such incidents stress the need for legislation to safeguard policemen. He also demanded that the state government announce a compensation of Rs 1 crore to the family of the slain policeman.

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