TENKASI: The Alwarkurichi police arrested two persons for allegedly beheading a 26-year-old construction worker in Pottalpudur near Kadayam on Friday. This is the third such case reported in the region in the last 33 days.
The deceased was L Santhana Balamurugan. The suspects are S Karthik Raja (22) and his brother-in-law P Mutharasan (24) of Alangulam. The Alwarkurichi police arrested both the suspects near Alangulam.
According to sources, the dispute between the deceased and suspects stemmed from a heated argument two years ago while hunting. “A dispute erupted between them after the accused hid country-made explosives, used to be concealed in bait to catch animals, in the farm of Balamurugan’s friend. The quarrel continued every time they met at functions and festivals. A week ago, the suspects, riding a two-wheeler, attempted to knock down Balamurugan’s bike. Balamurugan brought the matter to the village elders, who allegedly chided them,” said sources.
“They also allegedly threatened each other over the phone. Expecting an untoward incident, Balamurugan avoided visiting Pottalpudur. However, after being informed by his family members that his child was unwell, he visited Pottalpudur on Friday when the suspects planned to murder him. When Balamurugan was riding his two-wheeler near Theepa Thidal area, the duo intercepted and beheaded him before fleeing,” added sources.
Superintendent of Police S Ashok Kumar and personnel from Alwarkurichi police station rushed to the crime spot and conducted a preliminary inquiry.
Balamurugan’s body was sent to the Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital for postmortem.
On August 3, a bike-borne gang beheaded S Sorimuthu (30) over previous enmity in Vikramasingapuram, around 11 km from Pottalpudur. On August 30, a 33-year-old painter, Baskar, was beheaded at Manimoortheeswaram in Tirunelveli city by a group of locals, said police sources.