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In a high-octane chase that looked like something out of a movie, a Coimbatore policeman clung onto the roof rails of an SUV for over 40 km as three persons from Rajasthan attempted to escape with banned tobacco products.
M. Velmurugan, 38, a head constable attached to the Kovilpalayam police station in the district, held onto the roof rails of the SUV, which had about 230 kg of gutkha. The chase started from Kaikolapalayam in the jurisdiction of the Kovilpalayam station around 5.45 a.m. According to senior officers, they had specific information on the smuggling of banned tobacco products from Bengaluru to Coimbatore.
A team, led by Neelambur Inspector P. Thiyagarajan, identified the suspected white SUV bearing a Karnataka registration number at Vellanaipatti.
Headconstable Velmurugan of Kovilpalayam police station in #Coimbatore clung onto the roof rails of an SUV for about 40 km as three men from Rajasthan tried escape from the police with over 250 kg of gutkha. The video was shot by the crew of an NHAI ambulance. @THChennaipic.twitter.com/7pAt9m4ZVd— Wilson Thomas (@wilson__thomas) September 27, 2026
Headconstable Velmurugan of Kovilpalayam police station in #Coimbatore clung onto the roof rails of an SUV for about 40 km as three men from Rajasthan tried escape from the police with over 250 kg of gutkha. The video was shot by the crew of an NHAI ambulance. @THChennaipic.twitter.com/7pAt9m4ZVd
He immediately alerted his counterparts at the Kovilpalayam station, from where Sub-Inspector V. Vignesh and Mr. Velmurugan swung into action and intercepted the SUV at Kaikolapalayam.
As Mr. Vignesh was talking to the men in the SUV through an open window, the driver raised the glass, trapping one of his hands, and immediately reversed the SUV in a bid to escape. Mr. Velmurugan, who was holding the SUV’s roof with his hand, climbed atop the vehicle and held onto the rails. As he banged on the roof, the driver released the SI’s hand and sped away with Mr. Velmurugan atop.
The SUV sped through Kalapatti, Nehru Nagar junction, and airport junction to reach Avinashi Road and headed to Tiruppur on the busy Salem-Kochi Highway, often clocking over 100 kmph. Meanwhile, Mr. Vignesh chased the SUV on a private car, while Mr. Thiyagarajan and his team followed in a police vehicle.
“The police immediately alerted the NHAI, which deputed an ambulance to ensure the policeman’s safety. Though we had alerted the Kaniyur toll gate, the SUV got away as the boom barrier operated with the FASTag. The video of the policeman on the SUV was shot by the ambulance crew,” said District Superintendent of Police A. Pavan Kumar Reddy.
The SUV was blocked with the assistance of the Avinashi police near Mangalam junction in Tiruppur district. Though the three smugglers — Babu Dhara, 27, A. Rajesh, 23, and S. Suresh, 20 — ran out of the vehicle, the police chased and arrested them, said Karikal Pari Shankar, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Karumathampatti Sub-Division. Two of them suffered fractures on their upper limbs in the escape bid.
In a high-octane chase that looked like something out of a movie, a Coimbatore policeman clung onto the roof rails of an SUV for over 40 km as three persons from Rajasthan attempted to escape with banned tobacco products.