1. Thoothukudi VAO hacked to death by sand mafia; CM announces ₹1 crore relief
Lourdhu Francis, a 56-year-old Village Administrative Officer (VAO) of Murappanadu in Thoothukudi district was brutally hacked to death after two armed men assaulted him at his office this afternoon.
As Francis was reportedly informing the police and his higher-ups about the illicit sand miners operating in the area, he had earned the enmity of an illegal sand mining mafia. Kin of the deceased VAO alleged that he had been facing threats from the mafia and was not given police protection, even though he had asked for it.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin condoled the death of Francis and announced a solatium of ₹1 crore from the Chief Minister’s Public Relief Fund. Mr. Stalin also said one of the family members of the deceased would be given a government job.
2. Annamalai releases second purported audio clip of Fin Min levelling corruption charges within DMK
Tamil Nadu BJP president K. Annamalai released a 57-second audio clip, which, he claimed for the second time, contained the voice of Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan. The person in the audio seemed to be complaining about the ruling DMK.
In his tweet, releasing the audio, Mr. Annamalai said, “Listen to the DMK ecosystem crumbling from within”. In the later part of the clip, the person is heard saying, “The party which is the CM’s son and son-in-law…”, in an apparent reference to Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, his son and Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development Udhayanidhi Stalin and his son-in-law V. Sabareesan.
Only a week ago, another 28-second-long audio clip, purportedly belonging to Mr. Rajan was released on social media on April 19. The BJP and the AIADMK had demanded action to verify its authenticity, after Mr. Rajan issued a statement saying the audio clip was “fabricated”.
3. Vengaivayal water tank issue | Eight out of 11 persons absent for DNA sample collection
After eight out of the 11 persons failed to turn up for DNA tests, blood samples were collected from three persons who appeared for the test at Pudukottai Government Medical College Hospital, in connection with the incident at Vengaivayal village in Pudukottai district in December last year, when faeces were found mixed in an overhead tank that supplied potable water to Adi Dravidar families.
Earlier last week, the Special Court for Exclusive Trial of Cases Registered under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act had issued an order to collect blood samples from 11 persons, including three women, to conduct the DNA tests.
4. Death of minor girl in Ooty | Sexual assault suspected
The Nilgiris police have launched an investigation into the murder of a 14-year-old girl from a hamlet near Sandynallah, whose body was found in thorny bushes near the Anger Board junction in Udhagamandalam last evening.
The police said that the body of the girl who did not return after leaving for school in the morning had visible signs of sexual assault. A preliminary investigation by the police revealed that a person, Rajnesh Kuttan (25) of a hamlet near Shooting Mattam, had taken the girl in a car. The police suspect that he murdered the girl after sexually assaulting her.
