The cop was killed in firing that took place when a police team had gone to arrest the suspects in Pali.
A police inspector from Chennai, who was investigating a recent gold heist in Tamil Nadu, was shot dead by a suspected robber in Rajasthan early this morning. He was chasing the gang involved in the robbery when he was shot at with his own service revolver in the state's Pali district, police said.
Police sources say that 48-year-old Periyapandi, who was posted at the Maduravoyal police station in Chennai, was part of a special team constituted to solve the robbery case in which the suspects drilled a hole in the ceiling of a jewellery shop in Kolathur area and escaped with 3.5 kg gold last month.
The police got information that the suspects were hiding in a deserted brick kiln. A team of seven officers then headed for Pali's Jaitaran, about 238 km from Jaipur, where they managed to catch hold of one of the alleged robbers. When the accused was being taken out of the compound, he snatched Mr Periyapandi's service revolver and opened fire. The inspector died on the spot while others suffered serious injuries. They were rushed to a nearby hospital.
Chennai police chief AK Viswanathan told NDTV, "The incident happened around 2.20 am. Our team had gone to arrest the accused. I've been coordinating with top police officers in Rajasthan. The Joint Commisioner of Police is rushing to Pali."
According to the police, on November 16, the owner of the jewellery shop locked it and went home for lunch, but when he returned after about three hours, he discovered a hole in the ceiling. The culprits are suspected to have entered the shop through the hole, police said, and escaped with about 3.5 kg of gold, silver items and Rs 1 lakh. The CCTV footage showed two persons carrying bags containing the loot.