Inter-district gang stealing milch animals from interior farm houses held by Dindigul police; they sell them at Manaparai shandy

The Dindigul district police have busted an inter-district gang allegedly involved in stealing milch animals from several southern districts and selling them at the Manapparai shandy in Tiruchi district.Recently, when Kannan (45), son of Ayyadurai of Mattaparai within the Vilampatti police station limits, lodged a complaint, the police registered a case.The complainant said that a milch animal and a calf from his farmhouse had been missing since September 1. In the absence of CCTV cameras in the vicinity, the police team had a tough time tracing the animals. After a discreet probe, the police zeroed in on a goods vehicle carrying a milch animal, noted down its registration number and tracked it.The police detained Ramamurthi (56) from Dindigul district and his accomplice Muthupandi (39) from Karadupatti in Sholavandan, Madurai district.Interrogation revealed that the duo were allegedly in the habit of silently stealing milch animals from interior habitations where the movement of people was limited. After identifying the locations during the daytime, they brought in a goods vehicle at night and lifted the animals.They then drove to neighbouring districts and sold the animals through agents at shandies without attracting the attention of anyone. A police officer who was part of the team said the duo, after striking at a place, would contact their agents in other districts where the shandy would open. They would hand over the milch animals and get a fancy sum.In the Vilampatti case, the police found that Ramamurthi and Muthupandi had sold the milch animal at the Manapparai shandy. The police recovered ₹30,000 and seized the goods vehicle.Superintendent of Police S. Jeyakumar said the public should come forward to install CCTV cameras in interior locations, as this would help in detecting such crimes swiftly. The police had also been educating the public to beware of strangers who might roam in deserted locations during the day and strike at night. He appealed to the public to alert the police control room about any suspicious persons and assured stern action.DSP Illanchezhian, Inspector Jayapandi and others said a case had been registered and the two accused were produced before a Judicial Magistrate Court and sent to judicial custody. Published - September 06, 2026 08:46 pm IST