A day after the petrol bomb attack in which one person was killed and four others were injured at Teppakulam here on Thursday, seven persons surrendered before a court in Srivilliputtur of Virudhunagar district.
They were identified as M. Muthukumar (21), N. Kumaran (24), M. Karthic (24), V. Vijai (23), P. Saravanakumar (23) and V. Arunkumar (23) of Mela Anuppanadi and K. Asaithambi (25) of Marudhupandiar Nagar, Teachers’ Colony. Judicial Magistrate II Kavitha remanded them to judicial custody for a week, and ordered their confinement in the Central Prison here.
The police said that the assailants wanted to take revenge on the accused in the October 2012 petrol bomb attack on Ring Road here.
Meanwhile, the body of M. Muthuviji, who was hacked to death, was taken in a procession to his native village Pattam in Sivaganga district. The supporters of the victim joined the funeral in over 30 two-wheelers, creating tension on the 15-km-long route.
The procession moved at a snail’s pace, throwing traffic out of gear in the city and in the district limits. Almost all shops and commercial establishments on the route remained closed. Stones were thrown at closed shops on Anuppanadi Road. The procession started at 12.40 p.m. and reached Pattam at around 6 p.m.
Despite a large posse of police personnel present at Pottapalayam on way to Pattam, some unidentified persons allegedly barged into the hamlet dominated by people belonging to the rival group. Residents of Pottapalayam confronted them with machetes, swords, wooden clubs and pipes. But the police chased them away.