Highway robber A. Yuvaraj, 28, was killed when he got knocked down by an omni bus while fleeing from the police during a failed bid to waylay a truck at Aruvangadu near here in the early hours of Saturday. His accomplice S Yuvaraj, 31, was caught by the police whereas a third member of the gang, Shahul, 26, managed to escape.
According to police, the three men had become partners in crime after developing friendship while serving jail terms for robberies. After release, they resorted to waylaying trucks laden with goods on the Salem-Coimbatore highway at Aruvangadu near Sangagiri during nights. They would stop the trucks and robbed the drivers of their money after threatening them with knives, police said.
At around 3 a.m. on Saturday, the trio waylaid three trucks on the highway in quick succession. It so happened that the truck drivers, who had lost Rs 3,000, Rs 6,300 and Rs 13,000 respectively, stopped at a wayside teashop and shared their plight with each other. Realising that the same gang robbed them all, they reported to the Kumarapalayam police station and set out with a police team to identify the highway robbers.
“When we went to Aruvangadu, we found the gang trying to lorry another lorry. They took to their heels when they saw the police jeep. An omni bus going from Chennai to Coimbatore knocked down A Yuvaraj when he ran across the road. We caught S Yuvaraj but Shahul is absconding. We will get him”, said a police official, adding, “We have been getting reports of highway robberies but now we are confident the incidents will stop”.