Monday, May 26, 2003
Monday, May 26, 2003 |
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Tamil Nadu
By Our Staff Reporter
M.K. Azhagiri, elder son of the DMK chief, M. Karunanidhi, was arrested on a conspiracy charge. A special team investigating the case is all set to apprehend some of his loyalists, accusing them of "abetting" and "executing" the pre-dawn killing on May 20. Of the dozen plus party cadres picked up for enquiry, three reportedly confessed to having committed the crime. One of the suspected assailants walked into a police station here on Thursday along with an advocate, offering to subject himself to questioning, as he came to know that the police were on the lookout for him. "It has been established that intra-party rivalry led to the murder and four cadres were involved in the murder," a top police official told The Hindu here this evening. Correlating "corroborative" evidence, the police said one of the motorcycle-borne culprits used a long, double-edged weapon to slit the throat of Kiruttinan to immobilise him and then stabbed him in the chest. Two others kept a watch from a distance and rode past the scene of crime minutes after the murder. They allegedly made a call from a phone booth opposite to the Madurai District Court complex and "confirmed accomplishment of the mission" to a party functionary. All except the prime suspect, who actually killed Kiruttinan, were nabbed.
Hunt on for main accused
"We have specific information about his movements and it is only a matter of time before he is arrested. The case may be solved in the next 48 hours," an Assistant Commissioner, said and added that some of the accused stayed in a lodge on May 19. Almost all the accused were "members of the DMK and staunch supporters of Mr. Azhagiri", the police said. The murder was committed following tension between two factions of the DMK over organisational polls. The situation worsened with the announcement of elections for party posts in southern districts, close on the heels of Kiruttinan's Chennai-visit. The special team, operating under the direct supervision of the Commissioner of Police (in-charge), P. Kandaswamy, achieved the breakthrough within five days of the murder. "The police may furnish clinching evidence in the court on May 28 when a bail petition of Mr. Azhagiri comes up for hearing", a police official said. Meanwhile, kin of a few DMK partymen, who had been taken in for questioning, sent telegrams to the President, the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister, seeking their intervention against "harassment" by the police, according to party sources. They accused the police of causing "ill-treatment" to their kin in custody, besides posing threat to the lives of those being enquired in different police stations. "My husband is being forced to give a statement against Mr. Azhagiri," a woman stated in her telegram, the sources added.
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