THOOTHUKUDI: Tirunelveli police registered FIRs against three undertrial suspects following a recent attack on another suspect in the Palayamkottai Central Prison in Tirunelveli district.
Sappattai alias Maruthaivel (31) of Anna Nagar in Thoothukudi was attacked by the trio and sustained injuries, following which he was admitted to the Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital.
Based on a complaint filed by the prison superintendent Senthamarai Kannan, the Perumalpuram police registered FIRs against K Bala alias Balasubramanian (31), J Sankaramoorthy (29) and Chandraprasad (29) and the trio were arrested.
The Palayamkottai prison, which has a total capacity of 1,333 people, currently has 1,110 inmates. Suspects from different castes are put in separate blocks and only interact during day time.
Clashes allegedly erupted due to differences among the suspects held in connection with revenge murders in Thoothukudi. Sources said that one Athipalam, an associate of a Backward Class leader was murdered in 2006 by a gang led by one Sivakumar of Ayyanadaippu.
To avenge Athipalam’s death, his brother Rajesh killed Sivakumar outside the Thoothukudi South police station in 2019. Sivakumar’s brother Muthukumar was also murdered by Rajesh’s associates.
Nearly 21 suspects are currently lodged at the Palayamkottai jail in connection with the murders, except Rajesh who is lodged in the Poonamalle jail in Chennai due to safety concerns.
The suspects in the killings of Sivakumar and Muthukumar were not granted bail due to objections from the victim’s dear ones, who belong to the Scheduled Caste, sources said, adding that the complainant was opposed to granting bail to the alleged killers of Sivakumar and Muthukumar.
While some suspects conspired to eliminate the complainant, Maruthaivel had differing opinions, which led to the attack on him.
Police said the trials in the murder case are being conducted through video conferencing and the complainant is under police protection.