Poacher killed in accidental fire in Theni

The deceased identified as Samayan along with his friends Manikandan, Thamanan, Kannan and another Samayan had gone for hunting on Wednesday night. They did not spot any animal for more than 4 hours and decided to return. 

Meanwhile, Manikandan began to unload bullets from the gun. Suddenly,  a bullet got struck in the gun and when Manikandan tried to forcefully remove the bullet there was an accidental trigger. Unfortunately, Samayan who was walking in front of him was hit by the bullet in the lower abdomen. 

As a result, Samayan began to bleed heavily and was immediately rushed to Athuparai. But, by the time the team neared Athuparai, Samayan breathed his last. Frightened by the sudden turn of events, Thamanan, Kannan and another Samayan placed the dead body on a rock and all of them fled the scene. 

Manikandan went to the village to inform the villagers about the incident. Soon, the news of Samayan’s death spread to the entire village and they had informed Kadamalaikundu police, who also rushed to the spot. They went to the rock to pick up the dead body, carried out investigations and sent the body for post mortem. 

Manikandan was picked up for investigation and a case of suspicious death was filed by the police. More investigations are on and the police have formed a team to find the absconding trio. Meanwhile, the kin of Samayan raised suspicion about his death and demanded the arrest of the remaining three to know the exact reason behind the death. 

Police claimed that the gang had been regularly involved in hunting in the forest area which is known for Naxal movement. They also revealed that there has been a spurt in the usage of country-made guns in Theni district for which no licence is obtained by the people. They claimed that investigation is on in the case about how the team had procured the country-made gun.