CUDDALORE: The Cuddalore I Additional District Sessions Court on Tuesday sentenced nine persons to life imprisonment in connection with a murder that occurred during a clash between two groups over a local body election dispute near Cuddalore in 2020.
According to police and court sources, Janarthanan (48) of Pallipattu Colony near Thookkanampakkam had supported Ramachandran, a candidate for the post of Pallipattu Village Panchayat President in the 2019 local body elections. Ravi contested against Ramachandran and lost, leading to enmity between Janarthanan, a Ramachandran supporter, and Kumar, a supporter of Ravi.
On April 14, 2020, Janarthanan and his brother Kamalakannan (40), a daily wage worker, were speaking near their house when members of Kumar’s group arrived, sparking a clash. Both sides attacked each other with weapons including iron pipes, leaving seven persons, including Janarthanan, Kamalakannan, Siva, and Jayaseelan, injured.
The injured were admitted to the Cuddalore Government Hospital, and Kamalakannan, who was later referred to JIPMER Hospital in Puducherry, succumbed to his injuries.
Thookkanampakkam police registered a case against 20 persons, including Kumar (48), Maniarasan (29), Vijayan (27), Venkatesan (32), Krishnaraj (52), Jayaseelan, and Gobu. Ten were arrested, and following Kamalakannan’s death, the case was altered to one of murder.
After examining witnesses and evidence, Judge G Saraswathi convicted nine accused — Kumar, Venkatesan, Maniarasan, Krishnaraj, Silambarasan, Vinothkumar, Bharathidasan, Aravind, and Bharathraj — and sentenced each to life imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 3,000. One accused, Sivaraman, had died by suicide during the trial.
Following the verdict, some of the convicted and their family members were seen in tears as they were taken to prison. Notably, Silambarasan, already serving a life sentence for a separate murder in Bahour, Puducherry, in 2022, was brought from Kalapet Central Prison for the hearing.