Perambalur (PTI): Unidentified assailants hurled country bombs at a police escort vehicle near the Thirumandhurai toll plaza on the Chennai-Trichy National Highway on Saturday in an attempt to attack a history sheeter being transported in it, police said.

Three police personnel sustained injuries in the blast and the ensuing melee, they said.

The attack targeted 'Vellai' Kali, a notorious history-sheeter from Madurai with over 30 criminal cases including nine murders.

According to preliminary reports, as the police van approached the Perambalur district limits, a gang traveling in two cars intercepted the vehicle and hurled multiple country bombs, attempting to neutralise the police escort to reach the history-sheeter.

In self-defense and to prevent the prisoner’s escape or assassination, the police personnel reportedly opened fire at the vehicles, forcing the attackers to flee the scene.

A senior officer said the assailants fled towards Chennai.

The injured were immediately rushed to the Perambalur Government Hospital for treatment.

“They suffered minor injuries and are being treated at the moment,” the officer said.

The condition of 'Vellai' Kali is reported to be stable as the police successfully shielded him from the direct impact of the explosives.

The incident triggered a sharp political reaction.

Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) took to X (formerly Twitter) to condemn the DMK government.

He noted that while Chief Minister M K Stalin was “patting his own back” in the State Assembly, the state’s security apparatus was “shattered on the highways”.

EPS further alleged that criminals no longer fear the police under the current administration.

“A situation prevails where there is absolutely no fear of the police, who deal with crimes, or of this government. While the law and order situation is being made a mockery of, I do not know whom Chief Minister Stalin — who is rotating the wheels of administration in a lackadaisical manner — is going to blame for this incident,” wrote Palaniswami in his post.

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Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.

The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.

Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.

The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.

Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.

The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.