The mortal remains of Village Administrative Officer Y. Lourdhu Francis of Murappanaadu, who was murdered in his office on Tuesday, were laid to rest in Pudukottai near here on Wednesday.
The police, after arresting the main accused person Ramasubramanian of Kaliyaavoor near Murappanadu, who already has several criminal cases lodged against him at various police stations, nabbed his associate Marimuthu on Wednesday. The duo allegedly hacked Lourdhu Francis to death as the VAO had complained to the police about the illicit sand mining being carried out by Ramasubramanian. Marimuthu was nabbed from his hideout in Thaazhai Ooththu on the outskirts of Tirunelveli by a special police team.
Francis’s body was handed over to his relatives around 11.30 a.m. on Wednesday, after a post-mortem examination at the Government Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital by a team led by surgeon Selva Murugan. The body was taken to Soosai Pandiyapuram, Francis’s birthplace near Pudukottai on the Thoothukudi – Palayamkottai Highway. Following a Holy Mass conducted at St. Peter’s Church in Soosai Pandiyapuram, the mortal remains were taken in a procession and laid to rest in the burial ground near Pudukottai after 1 p.m.
