P. Muthukumaran, Communist Party of India (CPI) MLA representing the Pudukottai Assembly constituency, was killed in a road accident at Chokkanathanpatti on the Pudukottai-Annavasal road, about 10 km from here, on Sunday.
He was travelling by car to Annavasal to condole the death of a party worker. Mr. Muthukumaran (44) is survived by wife, a daughter and a son.
Mr. Muthukumaran, also district secretary of the party, was a first-time MLA from the Pudukottai constituency. He defeated the DMK's Periannan Arasu in the 2011 Assembly elections by a narrow margin of 2000 votes.
According to sources, the car driver lost control of the vehicle after its front right tyre got burst. The vehicle overturned on the roadside fields, killing Muthukumaran on the spot.
The car driver, Manikandan, and the Pudukottai union secretary, Muruganandam, have been admitted to the District Headquarters Hospital.
B. Maheswari, District Collector, and R. Tamil Chandran, Superintendent of Police, visited the hospital where the post-mortem was conducted.
The body was kept at the Town Hall in Pudukottai for the public to pay homage.
