One of the key accused in the murder of Naam Thamizhar Katchi functionary inside the official residence of a Roman Catholic priest in Kanniyakumari district Rev. Fr. Robinson, parish priest of Mayilodu parish, surrendered before a court here on Wednesday.
After the NTK functionary and Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation mechanic Xavier Kumar, 45, was beaten to death inside the official residence of Rev. Fr. Robinsion, 30, on last Saturday evening, the police were on the lookout for him and 14 others. While 3 persons were nabbed till Tuesday, Fr. Robinson surrendered before Judicial Magistrate of Tiruchendur, Varadharajan on Wednesday.
The Judicial Magistrate ordered the police to produce him before the Eraniel Court on January 29, Subsequently, Fr. Robinson was lodged in the Palayamkottai Central Prison.
As the priest was taken to the jail via an entry / exit point behind the Tiruchendur Court, the NTK cadre staged a demonstration condemning the police.
Meanwhile, the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court, while hearing a petition against the move to bury the body of Xavier Kumar on the premises of the Mayilodu church, directed the revenue and the police officials to bury the body in the common graveyard belonging to Mayilodu parish before 6 p.m. on Wednesday.
When the revenue and the police officials went to graveyard on Wednesday to execute the court’s order, the relatives and NTK cadre resisted it and staged a demonstration there.
They said the their main demands of giving the compensation of ₹ 1 crore each to the 2 daughters of the deceased and appointing Xavier Kumar’s wife Jemini as a teacher in a government-approved post in a government-aided school of the Kuzhithurai Roman Catholic Diocese were yet to be fulfilled.
However, the body was buried around 5.30 p.m. in the common cemetery of Mayilodu parish as per the Court’s direction with the prayers by four Roman Catholic priests.
