TIRUNELVELI: An inmate died and three others sustained injuries in an alleged caste clash among prisoners at the Central Prison in Palayamkottai in Tirunelveli on Thursday evening. The deceased has been identified as Muthu Mano (27), and the three undergoing treatment at the prison hospital are Chandrasekar (22), Kannan (23) and Madhavan (19).
Sources said that the four of them had been arrested by the Kalakkad police on April 11 for attempting to murder a youngster who belongs to a different caste. “After producing them before the judicial magistrate, the police lodged them at the Srivaikundam Sub Jail. When they were shifted to the Central Prison in Palayamkottai, a few of the inmates attacked them with stones,” the sources said.
All of them were admitted to the hospital inside the prison premises. Mano, who sustained severe injuries in the attack, was taken to Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital, but did not respond to treatment, and succumbed after a while. The police said he had many pending cases, including those of murder and attempt to murder.
Meanwhile, after coming to know about the incident, a few villagers of Moondaradaippu blocked the Tirunelveli-Kanniyakumari National Highway. They dispersed after Superintendent of Police Manivannan intervened. Police personnel have been deployed in the conflict-prone areas of the region.