TIRUPATTUR: A gang, hired by an electrician, allegedly murdered a government school teacher of Krishnagiri district by binding his limbs, dumping him on the middle of the road in Tirupattur district and running him over with a mini truck.
The deceased, M Sivakumar, 37, of Santhoor Gangavaram, Pochampalli, was employed as a teacher at Panchayat Union Middle School in Uthangarai. He was found murdered with limbs tied and head crushed at Ramakrishnapuram Old Railway Gate on January 29. On information, the police rushed to the spot and held investigations.
A special police team swung into action to nab the killers. They found an abandoned two-wheeler which helped them establish the identity of the deceased. Thereafter, with the help of CCTV footage, the alleged killers were identified.
The gang members C Vellaisamy (40), R Jeevachandra Hariharan, (29), A Arivalagan, (31), V Sathiamoorthy, (30), D Ilango, (27), and G Vembarasan, (27), all from Krishnagiri district, were arrested by the special team on Monday, along with S Ilango who allegedly hired the team. The Natrampalli police booked them under Sections 302 (murder), 120 (B) (conspiracy) and 34 (an act by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of Indian Penal Code (IPC).
“By analysing the CCTV footage recorded on cameras set along Krishnagiri-Vilakkalnatham road, the team found the bike belonging to the deceased, a car, in which he was abducted, and a mini goods vehicle used for running him over. Further investigations led to cracking the case,” a police officer said.
He added that the gang was hired by S Ilango, 42, employed as an electrician with a local body near Uthangarai. He wanted the gang members to intimidate and inflict injuries on Sivakumar as he had an affair with Ilango’s wife. Both were employed in the same school. Ilango had offered the gang Rs 1 lakh for carrying out the ‘assignment’, the officer said.
According to the police, the gang abducted Sivakumar from near the school and bundled him into a car. One of the gang members followed the car and the goods vehicle on Sivakumar's bike. They allegedly attempted to strangle him to death at Velakkalnatham but were unable to do so. "Later, they moved to Ramakrishnapuram Old Railway Gate where they dumped him on the road and ran him over with the goods vehicle," police said, adding that a manhunt was launched to nab a few more persons involved in the incident.