In what has become a mega operation that was executed as per the orders of Director-General of Police C Sylendra Babu, the Tamil Nadu police have arrested 560 rowdies in a single night across the state and seized a pile of weapons and narcotic drugs. 

The operation was unfolded with the aim of bringing down the crime rate in the state after there were several incidents of unlawful activities such as robberies, dacoities, and the supply of drugs. According to reports, the operation has been planned for 48 continuous hours and was launched on the orders of DGP Sylendra Babu. The 48-hour crackdown had begun on Thursday night and the police had arrested 560 rowdies across the state till the morning of Friday, with the operation still has been underway to nab more hooligans.

The exercise of mass arrest has been the first-of-its-kind operation in Tamil Nadu in recent times and the state law enforcement agency has been staying on high alert across the state to counter any untoward incidents that would arise following the arrest of rowdies. The arrested 560 rowdies include 70 history sheeters in Chennai and the police had also seized over 250 weapons, besides seizing narcotic drugs. 

The reports say that those arrested were criminals, anti-social elements, those who had evaded bail orders, wanted criminals, absconding accused, and those against whom Non-bailable warrants are pending. In Chennai, the raids were conducted at 700 houses of rowdies and more than 70, who were involved in various offences, were arrested. It has been reported that during the raids, 256 lethal weapons, including sickles, knives, and three country-made guns were seized, in various districts. 

While addressing the reporters, Chennai Police Commissioner Shankar Jiwal has said various measures have been initiated to ensure the city is free of hooligans and as per the orders of the DGP, the city police have launched a 48-hour operation. Jiwal said, "We have been conducting an operation from Thursday for 48 hours. The city police have a list of 6,000 rowdies and 717 of them were intercepted and verified until 7 am on Friday morning. Of these, 57 history-sheeters and 13 others who were involved in various offences were arrested."