CUDDALORE: Villupuram range deputy inspector general of police Disha Mittal on Thursday suspended inspector S Arumugam and sub-inspector M Anbalagan of the Kattumannarkoil police station for alleged negligence in handling a prior complaint related to a clash that eventually led to the murder of a 23-year-old history-sheeter.
Cuddalore district superintendent of police S Jeyakumar also suspended special sub-inspector Raja from the Special Branch for failing to promptly inform higher officials about the earlier clash and the murder.
According to police sources, the victim, K Praveen Raj, a resident of Koilpathu under Kattumannarkoil Municipality, was hacked to death by a gang of seven on Wednesday due to previous enmity. “Investigation revealed that on June 6, Praveen Raj was involved in a clash with P Sivaraj (21) and R Sakthivel (19) from the same locality after allegedly speeding on his motorbike. Their friends R Senthil Kumar (22) and S Manikandan (21) questioned him about the incident. In a fit of rage, Praveen Raj allegedly attacked three of them with a knife,” said a police officer.
On June 7, Sivaraj lodged a complaint at the Kattumannarkoil police station. However, inspector Arumugam and sub-inspector Anbalagan did not register a case and instead called both parties for a compromise.
Following this, Manikandan, Sivaraj, Senthil Kumar, Sakthivel, along with R Kaviyarasu, Aadhavan, and Vivekanandan alias Kutty, allegedly called Praveen Raj to a location, attacked him with an iron rod, and hacked him to death with machetes. The incident took place near Kattumannarkoil, sources added.
Though local residents initially refused to hand over the body in protest, SP S Jeyakumar visited the spot and held talks with the villagers. After this, the body was sent to Government Villupuram MCH for postmortem.
Based on a complaint from Ahalya, a relative of the deceased, a murder case was registered. Five of the accused — Manikandan, Sivaraj, Kaviyarasu, Senthil Kumar, and Sakthivel — were arrested. Police said two others, Aadhavan and Vivekanandan, are absconding and search is on.
Since Praveen Raj belonged to a SC, the police have registered a case under the SC/ST Act along with murder charges. Police sources said that Praveen Raj was involved in several criminal cases.