VILLUPURAM: Over 500 people took part in the funeral ceremony of a 19-year-old gangster at Vazhudavoor of Villupuram, who was killed by a rival gang in Puducherry.
According to sources, Muralidharan (19), a notorious rowdy from Vazhudavoor near Kandamangalam in Villupuram, along with his friends including Chandru (23) of Kodathur, had gone to Pillayarkuppam in Puducherry on Thursday with a mission to murder one Arun, whom Muralidharan and his brother had an enmity with.
However, Arun escaped the attempt. But, Muralidharan and his friends were roaming around in Pillayarkuppam with scythes and threatened the locals there. Meanwhile, Arun returned with his gang members and started attacking Muralidharan and Chandru, while others managed to escape. The duo was killed in the spot. Villianur police have registered a case.
Meanwhile, on Friday, the bodies of the two were handed over to their relatives after autopsy. They took the bodies to their respective villages for funeral. In the funeral of Muralidharan, more than 500 people took part.
"Though government order mandates that only up to 50 persons can take part in funeral, more than 500 took part in the funeral of Muralidharan. Nearly 100 rode on bikes before the funeral gathering and more than 200 followed them on foot," said a villager on condition of anonymity.
The villagers alleged that though police personnel from Kandamangalam had been deployed there, they did not question or stop the crowd. A video of the procession had gone viral on social media since Saturday. Many demanded severe action against those who took part in the procession.
Kandamangalam police said that they registered a case against 100 including the former panchayat president Senthil from Vazhudavoor for violating section 144 and also under sections of Disaster Management Act, 2005, and Epidemic Diseases Act, 1987. Further investigation is underway.