TIRUNELVELI: After a 21-year-old SC man was murdered here late on Monday, the Suthamalli police arrested three persons in connection with the case. The suspects, hailing from various castes, were admitted to the Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital (TvMCH) with injuries to their hands, which they suffered after an alleged scuffle with the police during their arrest.
According to sources, M Muthukrishnan of Indira Colony was hacked to death by unidentified persons while he was with his friends.
"The incident triggered unrest, with locals staging a protest at the crime scene, demanding immediate action against the culprits and refusing to allow the body to be taken for postmortem.
Police personnel, led by Tirunelveli Superintendent of Police N Silambarasan, held talks with the protesters and sent the body to TvMCH for autopsy. A special team was formed to trace the suspects. Acting on a tip-off, police located the suspects near Ambasamudram. When the suspects allegedly tried to escape by pushing the police personnel, they allegedly fell and sustained injuries,” said sources.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the murder stemmed from a long-standing rivalry between the victim and one of the suspects, Thangapandian (23). Occasional altercations between Muthukrishnan and Thangapandian were reported. The other two suspects were identified as Murugan (21) and Sivaraman (23), said sources.
The police are also on the lookout for four other suspects. Over 300 police personnel have been deployed in the region to maintain law and order, and senior police officials held talks with Muthukrishnan's family to hand over the body after postmortem.