Thevar Peravai functionary murder: 3 held

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI, FEB. 20.Three persons were arrested in the early hours of today in connection with the killing of a Thevar Peravai functionary at Egmore on Monday evening.

Police identified the arrested persons as Arulraj (28) and Duraipandi (26), and Basha (30). A hunt is on for six more persons in this connection.

The Thevar Peravai functionary, Kattadorai, a prime accused in the murder of `Karate Selvin', was shot at and hacked to death at an STD booth on the Police Commissioner Office Road in a busy intersection. The assailants escaped in a waiting car.

According to police, one of the alleged assailants, Arulraj, who is the first cousin of `Karate Selvin' had suffered injuries in the attack and was admitted to a private hospital.

This came to light when police conducted enquiries in most of the hospitals and during a vehicle check. Preliminary investigation has revealed that the attack was in retaliation to the murder of Selvin, a Nadar community leader and two others at Palayamkottai in 1997.

The arrested persons have reportedly confessed to the police following news that Kattadorai was staying in Egmore, that they had posted a person in the area to keep a watch for the past two days.

On Monday evening, the moment he was spotted making a call, their informant immediately alerted them on the cellular phone. They were moving nearby in a car and they rushed to the spot and escaped after the attack.

A police team led by the DCP (Triplicane) Mr. Chandrasekar arrested the assailants. Further investigation is in progress.

Our Tirunelveli Staff Reporter writes:

Tension continued in various parts of Tirunelveli district on Tuesday following the murder of Kattadorai at Chennai last evening.

About 10 state transport corporation buses suffered damage when the supporters of Kattadorai hurled stones at Kulavanigarpuram, Perumalpuram, Thimmarajapuram, Kottur areas in Palayamkottai town, Suthamalli, Manoor and Melapalayam, since last night.

A group of anti-social elements set fire to a transformer in the C. N. Village area in the wee hours of the night.

Another group armed with lethal weapons, ransacked a night hotel at Ponnakudi on the Nagercoil high road and set fire to it. The hotel was gutted, before the fireservice personnel put down the fire.

Miscreants ransacked a few shops in Tachanallur, Kailasapuram, Junction, Highground and set fire to some of them.

A majority of the shops in Kulavanigarpuram, Palayamkottai, Junction, Kurichi and the busy town areas remained closed for the whole day.

The long distance buses were operated with police bandobust. While private town buses plied as usual, the state corporation plied skeleton services as a precautionary measure. A mob attempted to picket the buses in Sokkampatti this morning. Police and revenue officials pacified them, following which they dispersed peacefully.

A majority of the schools in Tirunelveli and Palayamkottai towns declared holiday today. Police have taken into custody about a dozen persons for stoning buses.

Messrs. Ashuthosh Shukla, DIG of Police, P. Kannappan, SP, Maheshwar Dayal and J. Raveendran, deputy commissioners, visited trouble spots to monitor the situation. About 10 companies of TSP have been deployed in the city and rural limits, along with the swift action police (SAF) and the armed reserve police personnel from Tuticorin and Kanyakumari districts.

When contacted Mr. Ashuthosh Shukla said, `the situation is totally calm and well under control in the entire district and the police is keeping a tight vigil'.

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