Eight persons were arrested while they were attempting to demolish a hotel in R S Puram in the city late last night, police said today.
A gang of eight persons barged into the hotel, run by one Ramesh and ransacked it and made an attempt to mow down with the help of a earth mover around 11. 30 PM yesterday, they said.
On information Ramesh alerted police, who rushed to the spot and taken into custody all the eight.
Preliminary inquiry revealed that Ramesh was running the hotel for the last few years and paying rent to the owner Najuimunissa.
Since the property changed hands and new owners, a couple asked Ramesh to vacate the premises.
The couple-- Selvakumar and Shanthi residing in the same building, reportedly hired the gang to take the possession of the property forcibly, after Ramesh said that a civil case was pending in a court and he was paying rent regularly.
Based on the complaint, police arrested the eight persons for rioting with deadly weapons and under the Tamil Nadu Property (Prevention of Damage and Loss) Act, they said, even as a manhunt was on for the couple.
