Penang police chief Shuhaily Zain said the suspects, aged 27 and 48, were nabbed at a hotel in the state at 2.15am on May 26.

Police also seized a Hyundai Sonata car that was believed to have been used by the suspects during the attack.

“Police never stopped investigating the case.

“Throughout the investigation, police conducted several raids and detained a total of 16 men and two women, all aged between 22 and 53, with investigations conducted under Section 326 of the Penal Code,” he told a media conference here today.

He added that police were also looking for a man, S Dinish, 22, whose last known address was No 11A Jalan Semenyih Impian 18, Taman Semenyih Impian, in Selangor, as part of investigations into the case.

Ramachandran, 70, was attacked with sharp weapons in front of his house in Taman Alma, Machang Bubok, at about 7pm, on July 24 last year.

Separately, Shuhaily said from January until May this year, 77 disciplinary investigation papers were opened by the Penang contingent’s integrity and standards compliance department, with 48 cases of misconduct involving six officers and 69 personnel while the rest were criminal and drug offences as well as failure to turn up for duty.