DMK Councillor’s husband, 9 others arrested in AIADMK man’s murder
On Thursday morning, the AIADMK workers gathered before the mortuary of the hospital and raised slogans, while refusing to receive the body until the assailants were caught.
Family members and party workers protesting on hospital premises in Salem on Thursday; (inset) M Shanmugam
COIMBATORE: A DMK councillor’s husband was among the ten persons arrested by police in connection with the murder of an AIADMK functionary on Wednesday night.
M Shanmugam (62), the AIADMK’s Kondalampatti area secretary from Kamarajar Nagar was bound home in a two-wheeler from the party office, when he was intercepted and hacked to death by a six-member gang.
The incident happened, barely 100 feet from his house. On hearing his loud cries, the family members and neighbours rushed out, but the assailants managed to escape by then. Soon, the AIADMK workers resorted to a protest demanding the arrest of the culprits.
After talks with the agitators, the police sent the body of the deceased for a post mortem at Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College Hospital in Salem. On Thursday morning, the AIADMK workers gathered before the mortuary of the hospital and raised slogans, while refusing to receive the body until the assailants were caught.
Despite several rounds of talks by senior police officials with family members and party functionaries, they refused to budge and continued their protest. “We will not receive the body of my husband until the real culprits are arrested,” said Parameshwari, wife of deceased Shanmugam. Following the arrest of the assailants, the family members received the body around 7.30 pm.
Shanmugam, who was into real estate and road contracts, allegedly had rivals in both politics and business. “He was shadowed by the assailants for three days before executing the murder. The culprits had damaged a CCTV camera fixed at the entrance of the road before committing the crime. Ten persons, including the husband of a DMK councillor have been arrested by scrutinising other cameras in the neighbourhood,” police said.
To prevent any untoward incident, security has been beefed up on the hospital premises and near the house of the deceased.
Meanwhile, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami condoled his death and condemned the DMK government for failing to maintain law and order situation in the state as murders and robberies have become rampant.