The Coimbatore District Police arrested four people from a gang that waylaid a Kerala-bound car on the Salem–Kochi highway early Friday morning attempting to assault three passengers with weapon. Coimbatore District Superintendent of Police V. Badrinarayanan said that four additional suspects involved in the incident had been identified. The arrested people are K. Sivadas, 29; Ramesh Babu, 27; and M. Vishnu, 28, all from Chittur; and M. Ajay, 24, from Nallepilly, both located in Kerala’s Palakkad district.
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According to a report of Hindu, the assailants had chased the car of the complainant, Aslam Siddique, 27, of Ernakulam, in three vehicles and attacked it with weapons, 200 metres before a toll plaza near Madukkarai. However, Siddique and two of his friends managed to speed away, knocking down the doors of a vehicle, which the assailants had used to waylay Siddique’s car.
Videos of the assailants chasing and attacking the car, captured by the rear and dash cameras of Siddique's vehicle, were widely circulated on social media. According to the police, the assailants stopped the chase and fled when Siddique managed to reach a toll plaza. Siddique and his friends reported the incident to the highway police after crossing the plaza. Superintendent Badrinarayanan stated that the accused had acted on information suggesting the targeted car was carrying unaccounted cash, which turned out to be false.