TIRUNELVELI: Tirunelveli Additional Sessions Court sentenced four persons to life imprisonment in connection with a caste-based retaliatory murder on Wednesday. The victim Rathinam alias Rathinavel Pandian was the DMK's town secretary in Veeravanallur.
The convicted individuals were identified as S Subbaiah Das (38), P Suresh (37), A Suresh (37) and K Kombaiah (38) of a Backward Class (BC) community in Veeravanallur. Rathinam was from a Most Backward Class (MBC) community in the same locality. He was murdered in 2011 by the convicts, who suspected him of aiding his community members in the killing of BC men.
The police had filed a charge sheet against 21 persons in the case. After the trial, Additional District Judge V Padmanabhan convicted four individuals and acquitted 12 others. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 1,000 on each of the convicts.
Four other accused had died during the course of the trial. Additional Public Prosecutor M Karunanidhi represented the victim's family. Meanwhile, one of the accused, Subramani alias Vakkeel Mani, remains absconding, and a separate case is pending against him.
The murder was the latest in a series of caste-related killings in the region. In 2000, members of the MBC community allegedly murdered two BC men — Santhanam (father of Subbaiah Das) and his friend Ramaiah.
In retaliation, BC community members allegedly killed two MBC men, Athimoolapandian and his friend. In 2009, an MBC group allegedly murdered Ayyappan of the BC community. In 2011, Subbaiah Das and three others killed Rathinam, marking the sixth murder in a series of caste-related reprisals. Sources said the accused in the first five murders were acquitted over different periods as witnesses turned hostile.