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After a painstaking inter-State manhunt, the police on Friday arrested the last fugitive in the brutal 2021 Sirkazhi double murder and jewellery heist, bringing to a close a saga that has gripped this coastal town for nearly five years. The accused, identified as J. Ramesh Patel, was traced and arrested in Rajasthan on October 24, following a coordinated operation led by a four-member special team from Sirkazhi. The team — Inspector A. Kamal Raj, sub-inspector T. Veeraragavan, and head constables A. Poopalan and M. Muthu Balakrishnan (who handled Hindi liaison) — worked on the instructions of Mayiladuthurai Superintendent of Police G. Stalin and under supervision of Sirkazhi DSP Annadurai. The case dates to the early hours of January 27, 2021, when four men from Rajasthan allegedly barged into the house of jeweller Dhanraj Choudhary in Thadalan South Street and carried out a savage attack. Choudhary’s wife Asha and son Akhil were killed; the gang escaped with about 12.5 kg of gold and ₹6.75 lakh in cash — losses later valued at roughly ₹4.62 crore. A special investigation team quickly rounded up three suspects. During recovery operations, S. Maghipal allegedly attacked officers and was shot dead in an encounter. The other two — P. Manish and V. Karunararam — were arrested, tried and, on April 22, 2025, convicted by the Mayiladuthurai Sessions Court. Manish received three life terms; Karunararam was given two. Both are serving sentences at Cuddalore Central Prison. Patel, however, slipped away after a non-bailable warrant was issued against him in October 2022. “Only Ramesh Patel remained absconding,” SP G. Stalin told The Hindu, summarising years of tracking and intelligence work. The police first located him at Kanguva village and alerted the local Ahor police; by the time teams arrived he had moved roughly 300 km. Subsequent technical surveillance placed him in Sivaspura (Jaipur), where the Sirkazhi team finally effected the arrest with active cooperation from the Jaipur police. Following his capture, Patel was produced before a judicial magistrate in Jaipur; a transit warrant was obtained and he was flown to Chennai under tight security. On Saturday, he appeared before the Mayiladuthurai Sessions Court and has been remanded to judicial custody in Cuddalore until November 5.
