One of the accused man, A. Irfan
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The three men from Uttar Pradesh, who were arrested for burgling 13 flats at the Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB) apartment complex at Kavundampalayam in Coimbatore on November 28, planned more burglaries at Ramanathapuram in the city the next day, according to the police.
“They had instructed the autorickshaw driver, whom they hired for the burglaries at Kavundampalayam, to pick up and drop them off at Ramanathapuram on Saturday,” said an officer involved in the investigation.
The three accused, namely I. Asif (45), Kallu Arif (60), and A. Irfan (48), came to Coimbatore on November 27, on the invitation of Asif’s brother Burman and another person Dawood. They stayed with Burman, Dawood and 10 others at a rented house at B.K. Pudur near Kuniyamuthur.
Videograb of the house at Kuniyamuthur in Coimbatore from where the trio was arrested by the police on November 29, 2025
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Burman, Dawood and others were engaged in door-to-door selling of steel utensils across Coimbatore. The police suspect that Burman and Dawood tipped the trio off potential targets for burglaries from their regular field visits in the city.
Reserved AC train tickets for return
“Asif, Arif and Irfan travelled to Coimbatore on a train with sleeper class tickets. But, they reserved AC tickets for the return journey on Sunday (November 30), probably to avoid possible checks by security agencies in unreserved and sleeper class coaches,” said another police officer.
Kallu Arif
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
When questioned after their arrests, the accused told the police that they were not satisfied with the goods stolen from TNHB flats — 42 sovereigns of gold, 500 grams of silver jewellery and around ₹1.5 lakh cash — and planned serial housebreaks at Ramanathapuram on Saturday (November 29), before leaving city the next day.
Serial offenders
As per details provided by the city police, Arif has 22 cases registered against him in Uttar Pradesh, of which 18 were for burglaries, one murder, one attempt to murder, one case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and one under the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act. Asif had five cases against him, including one for a murder, and Irfan had been booked in three cases in their State.
Post-mortem of deceased accused
A team of doctors, on Monday (December 1, 2025), performed the post-mortem examination of Asif, who died at the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) on Sunday (November 30). Asif, Arif and Irfan were admitted to CMCH on Saturday, as the police arrested them after shooting them in their right legs from the house at B.K. Pudur. The police resorted to firing after they assaulted a constable with a sickle.
The police said the doctors performed the post-mortem examination in the presence of the Eighth Judicial Magistrate R. Sakthi Manjari. The procedure was videographed. Another brother of Asif reached Coimbatore after learning about his death.
Autorickshaw driver held
The police have arrested R. Ayubkhan (35) of Sugunapuram in Coimbatore, who took the three accused to the TNHB apartment complex at Kavundampalayam on Friday in his autorickshaw. The police said the autorickshaw driver was aware about the crime as the trio did not carry utensils for sales on the day. They spent around two hours in the apartment complex and returned to the autorickshaw with stolen goods.
The police added that Burman disclosed the fact that Asif was his brother only after his death. He initially refuted any connection with Asif. Burman and Dawood are likely to be booked in the case.
Published – December 01, 2025 05:50 pm IST
