MADURAI: Passengers on a government bus at Sattur in Virudhunagar were sent scurrying for cover after a young man on board was shot from close range, execution style, even as the vehicle was moving on a highway around noon on Wednesday. While the crew and passengers froze in fear, the unidentified gunman jumped off the bus and escaped from the spot immediately.
Sources said Karuppasamy, a 25-year-old from Kovilpatti in Thoothukudi, was travelling on the government bus from Nagercoil to Coimbatore. Working as an ambulance driver in Coimbatore, he had come to his native for Ayudha Puja rituals, and was on the way back this morning. After boarding the bus from Kovilpatti, he was sitting right opposite the backdoor – which eventually helped the killer during his escape.
As the bus was cruising along the four-lane road near Padanthal in Sattur at around 11.30am, a man on board shot Karuppasamy on his forehead with a pistol, killing him almost instantly. Before the startled passengers came to their senses of the incident that just happened right in front of their eyes, the man escaped.
Police believe he had an accomplice and that the hitman style murder could be the result of previous enmity. According to sources in Thoothukudi police, Karuppasamy’s brothers Kanagaraj and Manthiramoorthi are in prison after being accused in the murder of one Abdulla, an 18-year-old college student, who was hacked to death with a sickle in July.
About a month ago, Karuppasamy’s father Kandhari had complained to the Kovilpatti police against Abdulla’s father Mohammed Rafique, alleging that the latter had tried to run him over. Police suspect the murder could be a continuation of that, and are suspecting Rafique – who has several cases including video piracy charged against him – could have had a hand in it.
Senior officials including district SP M Rajarajan rushed to the spot to monitor investigations, while Karuppasamy’s body was sent to Sattur Government Hospital for post-mortem examination. The Sattur Town police are conducting investigations to find out the motive of the murder.