Pasupathi Pandian, the leader of the Devandra Kula Vellalar Federation was hacked to death by a gang at his residence in Nandhavanathupatti in Dindigul district, on Tuesday night. Special teams were constituted to nab his assailants. The police also took many persons for questioning including Pandian's bodyguards, who were with him at the time of the murder.
A special team rushed to Tirupur on information that one of Pandian's assailants had taken refuge there, but he managed to escape. Meanwhile, two men one from the victim's native district of Tuticorin and another from the neighbouring Tirunelveli district surrendered in the Valliyoor court in Tirunelveli, on Thursday. The men were identified as Arumugasamy (26), son of Madasamy of Idhayathavanai in Tirunelveli district and Arulanandham (26), son of Jayapandian of Mullakadu in Tuticorin district. The judge remanded them to 15 days custody at the Madurai central prison. The special team is expected to file its petition seeking custody of the two men on Friday.
As Arulanandham hails from Mullakadu, which is near Moolakarai, the native place of Venkatesa Pannaiyar, a local don, who was murdered in Chennai in 2003, police are investigating if Pandian's murder was committed in retaliation for the murders in Pannaiyar's group including Sivasubramania Nadar, grandfather of Subash Pannaiyar (cousin of Pannaiyar), who was murdered in 1990, with Pandian being named as an accused.
Police sources say that enmity within Pandian's family was also not ruled out as his own bodyguards were being grilled by the department.
Meanwhile, Tuticorin, which witnessed heavy violence on Wednesday during Pandian's funeral procession, slowly limped back to normalcy with bus services, which were stopped on Wednesday, resuming late on Thursday morning. Schools too functioned, but rumours of attacks on a school student had anxious parents rushing to the institutions to pick up their wards. Tuticorin SP Rajendran asked the public not to believe rumours and assured that the situation was under control.
However, angry traders who allegedly suffered a loss to the tune of about Rs 1.5 crore when miscreants attacked shops, vehicles and even a petrol bunk during the procession staged a demonstration near the bus stand protesting the attacks. According to U Natarajan, general secretary of Tuticorin City Traders' Association, they are proposing to shut down all shops in the city on Friday to register their protest.
Though the southern districts remained calm on Thursday, police pickets were placed in sensitive places like Paramakudi, Kadaladi, Kamudhi in Ramanathapuram among others. Patrolling was intensified in these places.
