A decade-long series of organised highway robberies in Tamil Nadu led to a landmark police operation and later inspired a major South Indian film.
Key Facts
- Duration
- 1995 to 2005
- Total robberies
- 24
- Total loot
- ₹20 million (approx. US$210,000)
- People killed
- 13
- People injured
- 63
- Perpetrators arrested
- 8, including leader Oma Bawaria
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
A group of truck drivers from the Bawaria community organised themselves into a criminal gang targeting residential areas along national highways in Tamil Nadu. Operating across multiple Indian states, they exploited road networks and mobility as truck drivers to evade detection while planning and executing coordinated robberies.
Between 1995 and 2005, the gang carried out 24 organised dacoity attacks on residential areas along national highways in Tamil Nadu, looting approximately ₹20 million, killing 13 people, and injuring 63 others. The Tamil Nadu Police formed a special investigation team under S. R. Jangid to pursue the suspects, who were wanted in multiple cases across India.
The police operation ended with two perpetrators killed and eight others arrested, including gang leader Oma Bawaria. The convicted members received various prison sentences from Indian courts. The case gained wider public attention when it became the basis for the 2017 Tamil-language film Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru.