Tamil Nadu: Cop, AIADMK member booked on alleged abduction, murder of youth

Even as the state is recovering from the custodial death of J Benicks and P Jayaraj, where 10 policemen had been suspended for their deaths, an inspector of Thattarmadam police station has been booked in a case of abduction and murder of 30-year-old S Selvan. Following protests that took place in Thoothukudi, Director General of Police (DGP) JK Tripathy on Monday ordered the transfer of the murder to CB-CID.

Selvan was allegedly abducted and murdered by a team led by AIADMK member Thirumanavel in connivance with Thattarmadam police inspector Harikrishnan on Friday.

According to sources, Selvan was on his way in a two-wheeler to his house on September 17, when miscreants led by Thirumanavel hit him with his car. The accused then abducted Selvan by picking him up and then injuring him grievously before dumping him on the streets. After a couple of hours, the victim's body was found lying in a forest area close to Kadakulam, and it was subsequently taken to Thisaiyanvilai Government Hospital by passers-by who thought that he was alive. However, the doctors there declared Selvan ‘brought dead’.

On getting information about the incident, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Sattankulam, Godwin Jagadeesh, and Harikrishnan rushed to the spot and conducted an inquiry with the family of Selvan, who accused Harikrishnan of being the brains behind the murder.

Accusations began after the AIADMK member bought a piece of land from Selvan’s uncle and tried to encroach the nearby land as well, which happened to belong to Selvan, thereby creating tensions between the two parties. Even though Thirumanavel exerted pressure on Selvan’s family to sell their land also to him, the family resisted.

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Following the news of his abduction and death, Selvan’s mother Elizabeth lodged a complaint with the Thisaiyanvilai police where she mentioned in her FIR that Thirumanavel, an AIADMK Thoothukudi south wing secretary, had grabbed the 1.75 acres of her son’s land colluding with Harikrishnan by filing false accusations against Selvan and his brothers. 

The police, based on the FIR, registered a case against Harikrishnan, Thirumanavel, and a few others under Sections 107 (conspiracy), 336 (rashly or negligently endangering human life), 302 (culpable homicide by causing death of a person), and 364 (kidnapping or abducting any person in order that such person may be murdered), which was later transferred to Thattarmadam police station.

Following public outrage and protests by family, villagers, and NTK cadres for over four days demanding action be taken against the accused, refusing to receive his body, Harikrishnan was suspended on September 21 while Thirumanavel has been dismissed from the AIADMK. The case on Monday was transferred to CB-CID.

This is the third murder case to be registered against the police in the Sattankulam Police Sub-Division after the deaths of Jayaraj and Benicks and construction worker Mahendran of Srivenkateswarapuram near Peikulam, both under the Sattankulam police station limits.

Condemning the protests, DMK President MK Stalin questioned the AIADMK government. He said, “The turn of events in youngster Selvan’s death has brought the question of whether the district is under the control of Tamil Nadu police Department or it changed into an island with the help of AIADMK people in the districts.”

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