DHARMAPURI: Residents of Sonnampatti village near Palacode staged a protest outside the Palacode police station, alleging foul play in the death of two local Scheduled Caste youths on Thursday. Their families suspect they were eliminated as they had been involved in a relationship with girls belonging to caste Hindu communities.
N Sunilkumar (19) and R Murugan (20) were found dead on Wednesday night near Chikarthanhalli apparently after a road accident. The duo were en route to Palacode on a moped. The vehicle that caused the accident remains unknown.
On Thursday, over 300 members from the village gathered outside the Palacode police station and staged a protest. The families of the deceased youths claimed both the youths could have been killed by the families of the girls.
Sunilkumar was an employee of a private company. Murugan was a third-year polytechnic student.Their bodies were sent to the Dharmapuri Medical College Hospital. The Palacode police have registered a case.
The protesters called off the protest after R Rajasundar, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP), of Palacode held a talk with the family members.
Speaking to TNIE, a senior police official said, “The two youths had died in a road accident; all evidence point to this. We are still investigating the incident.”