THOOTHUKUDI: 53-year-old Village Administrative Officer (VAO) Y Lourthu Francis was brutally hacked to death inside the Murappanadu VAO office allegedly by sand mafia members here on Tuesday.
Preliminary investigations revealed that he was murdered after the police registered a case against sand mafia gangster Ramasubbu on the VAO's complaint.
Ramasubbu has been arrested. The search for the others continues.
Sources said that two men had sneaked into the Murappanadu Kovilpatthu VAO office at around 12.30 pm on Tuesday and brutally murdered Francis.
He sustained injuries on both his hands when trying to defend himself.
He also received multiple injuries on the head and the skull causing him to collapse on the ground.
He was rushed to Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital where he died, sources said.
Thoothukudi Collector Dr K Senthil Raj visited the hospital and consoled the deceased's family members.
The collector appreciated Francis' sincere work and steps taken against encroachers. He recalled an instance when Francis was VAO at Adichanallur village. Francis had managed to recover a government poramboke land (belonging to the govt) which was encroached upon while looking for a land for the construction of an archaeological museum to exhibit artifacts collected at the Adichanallur archaeological site.
In that incident also, he was attacked by the encroacher, who was later detained under the Tamil Nadu Goondas Act, the Collector recalled while promising strict action against Francis' murderers.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister MK Stalin expressed his grief to the bereaved family.
The CM also announced Rs 1 crore solatium for the family and a government job for one of Francis' family members.
‘Police should have acted to ensure safety of Francis’
On April 13, the Murappanadu police had booked Ramasubbu and two others under Section 379 of IPC (sand theft) based on a complaint from the VAO which said the gang was illegally scooping out sand along the Thamirabarani river banks. Ramasubbu immediately fled to Kerala fearing police action, sources said.
Collector Dr K Senthil Raj and SP L Balaji Saravanan inspected the crime scene and visited the Tirunelveli medical college hospital on Tuesday. Sources said Ramasubbu has been part of the district’s history- sheeter list since 2018 and has 13 cases, including attempt to murder, against him in Murappanadu, Sivanthipatti and Thalaiyuthu police stations and Thoothukudi Prohibition Enforcement Wing.
Speaking to TNIE, a VAO, who had worked closely with Francis, said considering the criminal antecedents of Ramasubbu, police should have taken steps to ensure the safety of Francis. After meeting the slain officer’s family members, collector Dr K Senthil Raj praised Francis’s sincerity and his valiant fight against anti-social elements.