MADURAI: The M Kallupatti police registered a case against 12 suspects from a Scheduled Caste community for allegedly murdering a 43-year-old caste Hindu man on Tuesday night near Usilampatti.
While the victim’s wife, in her complaint, alleged that members of the SC community killed her husband to ruin a contested temple festival, police and revenue officials said it was unclear if the community was involved or if the festival was the motive for the murder.
The body of the deceased – S Chelladurai (43) of North Street in Soolapuram – was shifted to Government Rajaji Hospital on Wednesday, only after Usilampatti Revenue Divisional Officer Rajkumar assured the family he would convey to Collector TG Vinay the demands of the victim’s family, including a government job and a house.
According to police, Chelladurai was on his way back home with his wife, Malarkodi, when the couple was waylaid near Ulaipatti by a 12-member gang that allegedly murdered him. The murder comes ahead of the annual festival at Chellandiamman Temple in Soolapuram.
Malarkodi, in her complaint to the police, alleged that "people belonging to the Scheduled Caste community had murdered her husband, with an intention to ruin the temple festival". The annual festival was reportedly a contested affair as the SC community demanded entry into the temple during the celebrations.
On two occasions RDO Rajkumar had held peace talks. In the last peace talk, the caste Hindus are said to have acceded to the SC community’s demands. However, this year, Rajkumar, citing the Covid-19 pandemic, refused permission to conduct the festival. Rituals were allowed to be performed without any mass gathering.
However, both the RDO and the Superintendent of Police Sujit Kumar said it was “unclear” whether the dispute over the temple festival was the reason for the Chelladurai’s murder or even if it was people from the SC community that committed the murder. The police said they are investigating other aspects of the crime.