Seven held in connection with murder attempt against TN ration workers' association president
CUDDALORE: The Chidambaram Town police on Saturday arrested seven suspects for attempting to murder K Jayachandra Raja, the state president of Tamil Nadu Ration Shop Workers Association, and are on the lookout for six other suspects.
Those apprehended have been identified as Praveen Kumar (35), K Gurumurthy (21) of Nachiyarkoil, S Muhamed Younis alias Abbas (20) of Mannargudi, G Ashokumar (25), lawyer K Anandan (46) of Kumbakonam, S Muhamed Yasin(28) of Thiruvidaimaruthur, and A Manikandan (27) of Tiruchy. Police also seized three bikes used in the crime.
Raja was first attacked on March 21 with a liquor bottle. The second attack came on April 5, when a machete-armed duo injured him in the head and hands. He is currently undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Puducherry. Based on the order of the district superintendent of police, R Rajaram, teams led by Chidambaram sub-division DSP R Ragubathy were deployed to Tanjore, Chennai, Virudachalam, Kumbakonam, and Pudhukkottai.
The seven were nabbed, and an inquiry revealed that Ragu of Nachiyarkoil is the mastermind behind the murder. "Ragu arranged henchmen to murder Jayachandra Raja. In the investigation, police found that Ragu worked at the Annamalai University as an office assistant and later transferred to the cooperative department's registrar's office in Chennai. Jayachandra Raja gave him money collected from various people to arrange for jobs at ration shops," said a police source.
The source added, "Ragu neither arranged for the jobs, and also refused to return the money. This caused bad blood between him and Jayachandra Raja. Ragu then arranged for a gang to murder him." Search is on to nab Ragu and the remaining associates.