VELLORE: DMK functionary N Bala Settu and his son B Tharani Kumar were arrested in connection with the alleged murder of BJP leader V Vittal Kumar, by the Vellore police. Police sources revealed that Bala and his son were remanded to custody on Saturday afternoon. Before this, two other accused G Santhosh Kumar (26) and V Kamaladas (23) had surrendered at the Katpadi court on Friday.
Family members of the BJP leader had alleged that he frequently questioned the actions of Bala, who was president of the Nathal panchayat in K V Kuppam and had submitted petitions against him to the Chief Minister’s Special Cell. However, police stated that no such petitions were on record.
On December 16, V Vittal Kumar (45), the head of the BJP’s spiritual wing in Vellore, allegedly died in an accident. However, suspicions of foul play raised by his family had led to demands for a detailed investigation into the circumstances of his death.
According to a complaint filed by Kumar’s wife S Revathi (34), her husband dropped her home and left for KV Kuppam. Within half an hour, he met with an accident on Gudiyatham Road, sustaining severe head injuries. He was admitted to a private hospital but succumbed to his injuries around 9:30 pm. Based on the complaint, police had begun a probe to determine whether it was a politically motivated murder.