Chennai, Aug 1 (IANS):  Two history-sheeters were gunned down during an encounter with a police team on Tuesday near Guduvanchery, a suburb in the state capital, said the Chennai Police officials.

The deceased have been identified as Ganesh (32) and Vinod (36).

Police said that Vinod has at least 50 criminal cases, including 10 murder cases against him. His accomplice, Ramesh had 20 criminal cases and seven murder charges against him.

Sources in Guduvanchery police in Chennai told IANS that a police team, which was on a patrol, intercepted a car at early morning hours at Guduvanchery. Police said that there were four people in the car and during checking, they opened fire against the police.

Police team retorted, killing Ganesh and Vinod instantly.

It may be noted that after the DMK government came to power, there were several instances of police excesses. These include lockup deaths and custodial torture leading to deaths. There were also a few encounter killings at Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram and Madurai districts.

Recently in a high-level meeting of police officials and bureaucrats, the Chief Minister had stated that there should not be any highhandedness on the part of the police till the 2024 general elections, sources said.