A 26-year-old man from the Kalaingar Colony in Mayiladuthurai was allegedly murdered by a group, late on Wednesday. The Mayiladuthurai police have arrested seven persons in connection with the case.
L. Ajith Kumar, who is facing trial in the murder of a person a year ago here, was out on bail. He was one of the 22 accused in that case. After appearing in the District Court for the trial he and his friend S. Saravanan, 32, were returning on a motorcycle when they were intercepted by a group at Thiruvizhandur South Street late on Wednesday.
Four of the motorcycle-borne assailants allegedly attacked Ajith Kumar and Saravanan with sharp weapons. While Ajith died, Saravanan was severely injured and managed to escape from the spot. He was later rescued by his relatives and rushed to the Thanjavur Government Hospital for treatment.
The police recovered Ajith’s body and sent it for postmortem to the Mayiladuthurai Government Hospital. Superintendent of Police K. Meena visited the crime scene late on Wednesday.
The police said based on Saravanan’s complaint, a case has been filed under nine sections, including murder charge and a few sections of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Seven persons, including R. Bilki, 29, S. Sathish, 26, Bom Balaji alias S. Balaji, 29, Aavanna alias M. Sriram, 27, S. Chandramouli, 24, G. Mohandas, 28, R. Sathyanathan, 20, were arrested and a few others were reported to be absconding. The police suspect it to be a case of revenge for the earlier murder.
Meanwhile, Mayiladuthurai district secretary for the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi Siva. Mohankumar in a letter submitted to the district collector A.P. Mahabharathi demanded action under the SC/ST Act.
Relatives of Ajith Kumar staged a night-long agitation demanding the arrest of all those who were involved in the murder.
Shops on Gandhiji Road, Pattamangalam Street, Katchery Road, and Kamarajar Bus stand remained shut. Buses were not allowed into the bus stand and diverted on alternative roads till early Thursday.
