TIRUVANNAMALAI: The District Sessions Court in Tiruvannamalai on Friday awarded death penalty to five persons on the charge of mixing poison in arrack which resulted in the death of 13 people in Polur on May 23, 2000. According to sources, the convicts are T Murugan (43), V Kaliappan (41), N Jayapal (51), K Pillaikannu (65) and his son Udayakumar (41).
Sessions Judge G Magizhendhi awarded death sentence to the accused five persons for mixing poison in arrack under Section (302) of Indian Penal Code(IPC) and also slapped seven years rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 5,000 each. The accused had been engaged in illegal business of selling arrack and had some issues with another group engaged in the same illegal activity in the same region.
The convicts, T Murugan, V Kaliappan, N Jayapal, K Pillaikannu and his son Udayakumar, decided to destroy their rival’s business and conspired to lace the arrack produced by the other group with poison. The arrack which was poisoned by the five accused persons claimed the lives of 13 people including a woman in Polur on May 23, 2000.
Business rivalry
The accused had been engaged in illegal business of selling arrack and had some issues with another group engaged in the same illegal activity in the same region. The incident was a fallout of the rivalry between the two gangs.