TIRUNELVELI: The mortal remains of special branch constable, S Jagadessh Durai (34), who was allegedly beaten to death by the sand mafia on Sunday night, was laid to rest at his hometown Keezha Sinthamani near Nanguneri with full State honours on Tuesday. The constable was found dead on Monday morning near Nambiyar river in Puducherry with multiple injuries.
Mariya Rose Margeret (30), wife of Durai, said that her husband received a call on Sunday night from Vijayanarayanam police station regarding illicit sand mining at Nambiyar bed. Durai rushed to the spot in mufti, but did not return.
It is suspected that the illegal sand miners assaulted the constable as the tractor-trailer they were travelling broke down while he was tailing it. While police have reportedly detained two persons identified as Krishnan (50) and Murugaperumal (21) from Kakkan Nagar, one Murugan (30) from Thamaraikulam and a few others are still on the run.
Meanwhile, the family refused to accept Durai’s body from Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital and urged the authorities to increase the solatium from `10 lakh to `1 crore and a government job for Margeret. They also wanted the government to declare Durai a martyr and to take care of the educational expenses of Durai’s son Joel.
They received the body only after police officials including SP P Ve Arunshakthikumar as well as Nanguneri MLA H Vasanthakumar held talks. Speaking to reporters, IG Shailesh Kumar Yadav said that the demands of Margeret would be forwarded to the authorities.