Police inspector shoots criminal attempting to flee in Vellore

In the early hours of Tuesday, 10 November 2026, a police inspector shot a murder suspect during an attempt to apprehend him in Sengundram village of Tamil Nadu's Vellore district, resulting in an injury to the accused's right leg. According to a report by The Hindu, the incident occurred when the accused attacked a sub-inspector with a machete while attempting to escape.

Police identified the injured sub-inspector as S. Raja, who has been serving in the Gudiyatham taluk police for the last 6 months after being transferred from Vellore city. On the other hand, the shot accused has been identified as 29-year-old K. Poovarsan. According to the police, Poovarsan is involved in more than 20 criminal cases across various police stations in the district.

According to the sequence of events, on the evening of Monday, 9 November, Poovarsan murdered a local worker of the PMK with a country-made pistol. Following this incident, at around 5 am on Tuesday, a special police team led by Inspector Tamilselvan took Poovarsan to a house in Sengundram village to search for hidden weapons.

Police stated that at the house, Poovarsan suddenly produced a machete, attacked the sub-inspector, and attempted to flee. During this, the inspector shot him, causing an injury to Poovarsan's right ankle, after which he was arrested. Sub-inspector Raja sustained injuries to his left hand in this attack.

At around 6.30 am, both sub-inspector Raja and the accused Poovarsan were admitted to the Gudiyatham city government taluk hospital. Superintendent of Police N.U. Sivaramane visited the hospital to enquire about the condition of the injured sub-inspector. S. Manjunath, Chief Medical Officer of Gudiyatham taluk hospital, stated that the sub-inspector's condition is stable, while Poovarsan has been moved to the Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) of the Vellore Government Medical College and Hospital due to the gunshot injuries.

The entire matter began when Poovarsan shot and killed 49-year-old PMK worker Gnanavel near the village bus stop due to an old enmity. In this incident, Gnanavel's 40-year-old friend Raghu was also injured and was moved to Vellore government hospital for treatment. Upon receiving information, the Gudiyatham taluk police inspected the scene and apprehended Poovarsan from his hiding spot in the village. A case has been registered in this matter and further investigation is underway.

Meanwhile, AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami expressed shock over the murder of the PMK functionary in Vellore district. He criticised the government for the rising 'gun culture' in the state and demanded that the government crush this gun culture with an iron fist.