In the past six weeks, both Tirunelveli and Tenkasi districts have witnessed a disturbing rise in violent crime, with six murders reported. Police have successfully arrested the individuals responsible in all cases.
The most recent incident occurred on Saturday in Kudankulam, where 49-year-old Sekar was brutally attacked by two young men during a drunken altercation. Sekar, a resident of the area, was later taken to the hospital but succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday. The suspects, Esakki Muthu (23) and his brother Vainava Perumal (26), both from Avudaiyapuram, were arrested by police. According to reports, Sekar had requested a lift from the two men after they had purchased alcohol together. After drinking, the suspects allegedly tried to rob Sekar. When he resisted, they pushed him and threw a rock at his head.
Sekar’s death marked the fourth murder within a six-day span. On April 24, a woman and her three lovers were arrested for the brutal killing of her two-year-old daughter, with authorities uncovering false statements made to cover up the crime.
In Pazhavoor, a 19-year-old polytechnic student was arrested for hacking a 35-year-old brick kiln worker to death over a financial dispute. A day later, in Vadakku Ponnakudi, a man named Arunachalam (48) was beaten to death with an iron rod by his nephew, M Esakkimuthu (24), due to a land dispute. Esakkimuthu’s mother, M Subbulakshmi (50), was also arrested in connection to the murder.
Meanwhile, in Tenkasi, two separate murders were reported in the span of just four days. On Tuesday, L Marimuthu (29), an employee at a microfinance company, was killed with a liquor bottle by three men at a Tasmac outlet in Thuppakudi village. The suspects, R Pattusamy (25), M Velmurugan (27), and M Rajapandi (25), were arrested for the crime, which allegedly stemmed from a disagreement when Marimuthu refused to buy cigarettes and liquor for them.
Earlier in the week, R Amos (26), a construction worker, was hacked to death by mason Anthony Denis (35) in Nalankattalai village. Police later apprehended Denis and Amos’s wife, A Nandhini (23), who was reportedly having an extramarital affair with Denis.
In total, the police have made significant strides in addressing these tragic crimes and ensuring that the individuals responsible are held accountable.
