It is about three weeks since G. Subbulakshmi, Superintendent of Police, issued a warning to the residents of the villages abutting Karnataka border near Kolathur to surrender unlicensed arms they possessed to the police.
The SP’s order was following repeated complaints against the people of the villages on the Tamil Nadu – Karnataka border of illegally entering Karnataka reserve forests and indulging in poaching wild elephants and mining river sand. The action initiated by the Karnataka forest personnel against the poachers hailing from the Tamil Nadu villages often led to tension in the border areas.
However, the SP’s warning is said to have not evoked much response from the rural people. Following this, the Kolathur police on Saturday launched a house to house search in the villages of Govindapadi, Chettipatti, Karaikadu etc. The police recovered an unlicensed gun from a private premise in Govindapadi village.
