The recent seizure of a country bomb and 60 small packets of ganja by the police at Sourashtrapuram near Vandiyur reveals that the locality, a den for ganja peddlers, is prepared for yet another brutal battle.
Besides, the lanes and by-lanes in the thickly-populated residential area and the wild growth in the Vaigai riverbed provide a safe haven for antisocials to flee and take refuge during police raids. The police personnel, who raided the hideout of ganja peddlers on the night of October 20, were lucky as the culprits did not hurl the country bomb at them, but fled from the scene after leaving it along with the narcotics substance.
However, the incident has only brought to light the gravity of the situation in Vandiyur and its surrounding areas where two groups of ganja peddlers are waging a bloody battle to display their one-upmanship in the narcotics business.
Only in January 2014, two persons, including a notorious peddler, Udhayakumar, were brutally murdered in a gang war that occurred under the cover of darkness. One each in the rival groups was killed in the armed battle in which bombs were hurled inside a silver utensils workshop.
The attackers had surrounded the workshop after sneaking through the wild growth on the Vaigai riverbed.
In the October 20 incident, Anbarasan, who was arrested by the Karuppayoorani police, had reportedly confessed that the ganja peddlers were carrying the bomb with them in self-defence fearing retaliation for the murder of one Mathiyalagan. “This shows that the gangs are very much ready for another battle,” a police source said.
The accused in the latest incident managed to disappear from the eyes of the police after they entered the jungle growth of Julia flora on the riverbed. The police said the bushy growth on the riverbed along the Vandiyur Main Road gives a good cover for the antisocial elements for around two kilometres.
The police feel that the given situation warranted setting up of a police outpost at Vandiyur, besides clearing the jungle growth, to keep tabs on rowdy elements. The sprawling Sourashtrapuram, which has 13 streets branching out from the Vandiyur Main Road, is at least three km away from the Karuppayoorani police station. An outpost here will help residents to informally interact with the police who could reach troublesome spots at short notice.
