MADURAI: A man accused in a murder case was hacked to death on the Tirunelveli district court premises on Friday morning. The deceased, S Mayandi alias Palla Mayandi, 25, was attacked by a gang when he came to court.
The gang attempted to flee the spot, but police and advocates present there managed to subdue one of the murderers and arrest him then and there.
The murder, which occurred in a busy area, shocked the people and advocates present, as the murderers chopped off the face of the deceased before fleeing. Those present in the court went on a protest, complaining about poor security arrangements by the police department.
Police investigations revealed that Mayandi was murdered for avenging the murder of dalit panchayat ward member N Rajamani, 32, of Naduvakurichi on August 13, 2023. He was one of the accused in the murder case. He had been arrested by the police. Later, he got bail.
A month later, the city police arrested him under the Goondas Act, but he managed to come out of it. Mayandi was going to the district court to appear in one of the several court cases pending against him when the gang intercepted him, said the police.
While he was rounded up near Annapoorna Hotel, he managed to evade them and ran towards the court. The special sub-inspector, Uykattan, posted at the court, tried to stop one of the men wielding the sickle, but other members of the gang hacked him in front of the court, said the police.
Uykattan managed to nab one of the gang members. He was identified as M Ramakrishnan, 25, of Keelanatham.
The CCTV footage collected from the crime spot showed the gang leaving in a Kerala-registered car, and the police teams intercepted the car soon after. Police arrested R Siva, 19, M Thangamahesh, 21, N Manoraj, 27, and A Muthukrishnan, all hailing from Keelanatham.
Police said that three special teams were formed to nab other people involved in the murder. Police picketing was deployed in city areas as a precautionary measure, said the city police.
Taking suo motu cognizance of the murder of the man near the Tirunelveli district court complex on Friday, the Madras high court directed the state police to beef up security at all district courts. A division bench of Justice S M Subramaniam and Justice M Jothiraman wondered how the police personnel present on the court premises failed to prevent the murder. The court then directed the authorities to file a detailed report on the incident on Dec 21.
AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, AMMK leader TTV Dinakaran and V K Sasikala condemned the murder and accused the state govt of failing to maintain law and order in Tamil Nadu. Responding to them on X, state law minister S Regupathy stated that the police managed to nab the killers within two hours. He also pointed out the police chasing one of the murderers and nabbing him. Unable to digest this swift action, the opposition leader indulged in the usual mudslinging against the DMK govt. The law and order situation during AIADMK rule was the worst period, he said, pointing out the Sathankulam custodial deaths, Pollachi rape and Kodanadu murders.
