Sensing that the police had surrounded his hideout, "Komban" Jegan tried to attack the team with a machete, according to the cops.
File photo of Jegan. (Supplied)
The Tamil Nadu police gunned down yet another history-sheeter — this time in Tiruchirappalli or Tiruchi — on Wednesday, 22 November. This is the 11th encounter-related death after the DMK came to power in the state.
On Wednesday, a special police team of Tiruchy SP Varunkumar shot gangster “Komban” Jagan, killing him. He had more than 11 cases against him, registered across six police stations in the Tiruchy Rural limits.
According to sources, Jagan celebrated his 29th birthday on 19 October by inviting many of his history-sheeter friends and rowdy elements from Tiruchy and nearby districts to his native village of Panayakurichy near Thiruverumbur in the district.
During the celebration, he was taken in a procession to nearby areas in a car by his friends, and a feast was arranged for.
Hearing about this, the special team monitoring all these history-sheeters rushed to the village and arrested the rowdies who participated in the function with deadly weapons. However, Jagan escaped from the scene.
Meanwhile, a magistrate court in Tiruchy executed a non-bailable warrant against Jagan in connection with a criminal case, and the police were on the lookout for him.
On Wednesday, the SP’s special team received a tip about the absconding history-sheeter’s hideout.
The team, headed by Inspector Karunakaran and Sub-Inspector Vinodh, rushed to the Sanamangalam village near Samayapuram on the Tiruchy-Chennai highway.
Sensing that the police had surrounded his hideout, Jagan tried to attack the team with a machete, the cops said. Despite their repeated warnings to Jagan to drop his weapon and surrender, he did not back down. He attacked SI Vinodh with his weapon instead.
In light of this, Inspector Karunakaran retaliated by firing two rounds into Jagan, the cops added.
He was then rushed to the Thiruverumbur Government Hospital, where doctors declared him dead on arrival. His body was sent for post-mortem examination.
The injured SI was also admitted to the hospital. “We warned him not to attack, and to drop his weapon and surrender. But he was confident that he could attack,” an officer from the team recalled.
A Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) inquiry has been ordered into the encounter.
Jagan was the second son of Muthukumar and Saraswathi. Theirs was a middle-class family. Jagan was an engineering graduate who completed his BE in electronics and telecommunications in 2009.
According to the police, Jagan was in contact with gangster Manachanallur Guna during his school days and was involved in small assault cases.
In 2010, he was arrested in an attempted-murder case. He was charged with trying to kill a panchayat president.
In 2014, Jagan was arrested in a murder case for the first time. He and his gang allegedly hacked a Sri Lankan refugee to death on 15 February, 2015. The murder became politically sensational at the time.
In 2015, Jagan was detained under the Goondas Act. Since then, he had been arrested for half a dozen murders and detained under the Goondas Act twice.
So far, 11 history-sheeters have been killed in police encounters and more than a dozen have sustained injuries in police firings under the DMK regime in Tamil Nadu.
Murtaza Sheikh from Jharkhand was gunned down by the Kancheepuram police at Sriperumbudur on 11 October, 2021.
A 39-year-old history-sheeter, V Durai Murugan of the Kootampuli village in Thoothukudi district, was shot dead in a police encounter on 15 October, 2021. He had 19 cases — which included seven murder charges — against him.
Deena alias Dinesh and Biscuit alias Mohammed Moideen was shot dead by the Chengalpattu police near Palar at Irunkundrampalli on 1 January, 2022.
A special team of the Dindigul police gunned down “Neeravi” Murugan near Kalakkad in the Tirunelveli district on 16 March, 2022. He had been facing more than 60 criminal cases across Tamil Nadu.
Chota Vinod and Ramesh — two alleged rowdies from the Chengalpattu district — were killed in a police encounter on 1 August, 2023.
The police opened fire when they allegedly attacked the cops with weapons during a routine vehicle inspection at Guduvanchery near Chennai.
Vishwanathan alias “Kulla” Vishwa, an A-plus rowdy, was gunned down near Kancheepuram on 16 September, 2023, by a special team of the Chennai City Police.
On 12 October, 2023, history-sheeters Muthu Saravanan and “Sunday” Sathish were killed in a police encounter at Padiyanallur near Chennai.
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