Accused dragged out of police vehicle, murdered

Gang attacks policeman, damages his rifle

The police vehicle that came under attack at on Palayamkottai outskirts, in which a history-sheeter was hacked to death.

A history-sheeter, who was facing several criminal cases, including five murder cases, was hacked to death when he was being escorted in a police vehicle from Palayamkottai Central Prison to a court in Thoothukudi on Friday.

Special police teams have been formed to nab the culprits, who intercepted the police vehicle, and hacked T. Balasubramanian alias Singaram (47) of Pullaveli in Thoothukudi district at KTC Nagar check-post on Palayamkottai – Thoothukudi national highway at 10.50 a.m. Singaram was rushed to Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital immediately, but succumbed to injuries soon.

Singaram, a staunch supporter of slain Dalit leader C. Pasupathi Pandian, had earned enmity of different dominant communities of the region, and the police are clueless about the exact motive for the murder. They secured an abandoned vehicle at V.M. Chathram and collected the recordings of a surveillance camera fitted in a nearby eatery.

Singaram had been named as accused in the murder of Madhan and two others at Suththamalli near Tirunelveli and the murder of two other persons, both supporters of Subhash Pannaiyar, at Pazhaya Kayal in Thoothukudi district.

Police sources said more than 10 persons, who came in a car and an MUV, intercepted the police vehicle carrying Singaram at KTC Nagar check-post, threw chilly powder solution at the police personnel and hacked Singaram indiscriminately after dragging him out of the vehicle. They also attacked a policeman who was carrying a rifle. The butt of the rifle was completely damaged in the attack.

Tirunelveli Commissioner of Police R. Thirugnanam, Deputy Commissioner of Police Pradeep Kumar and Thoothukudi Superintendent of Police Ashwin M. Kotnis visited the spot.

Singaram had escaped an attempt on his life when he was produced at Tiruchendur court on June 28 last. Members of Puthiya Tamilagam and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi and relatives of the deceased, who gathered at the hospital, said the assailants were able to orchestrate their plan as the police did not provide adequate security to Singaram.

Police personnel have been deployed in sensitive Dalit villages in Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi districts following the murder.