Kin of 2 Theni farmers killed in 'bear attack' claim they were murdered
The deceased victims were Mani alias Manikandan (44) of Thangammalpuram and Karuppaiya (55) of Dharmarajapuram, sources said.
Representative Image
MADURAI: Aggrieved relatives of two farmers, who were found dead on a farm at Kovilparai, a village along the fringe of forest near Varusanadu in Theni district on Tuesday night, approached Theni District Police office on Thursday and demanded proper police investigation, claiming foul play.
The deceased victims were Mani alias Manikandan (44) of Thangammalpuram and Karuppaiya (55) of Dharmarajapuram, sources said.
Since the victims were found dead close to the forest, it was suspected that the duo could have been killed by wild animals.
K Chandrasekaran, son of Karuppaiya, the deceased in the case, said his father, who managed the farm raising coconut, cotton and lemon used to visit the farm every day along with his friend Manikandan and return in the evening.
But since he did not return home even after 5 pm, on February 25, his relatives went in search of him. When Jeyakumar, brother of Chandrasekaran rang his father, there was no response.
Subsequently, Jeyakumar along with his friend V Palpandi reached out to the farm in search of Karuppaiya. But much to their shock, they found Manikandan’s body, which had cut injuries and moments later they found Karuppaiya lying in a pool of blood.
The body bore multiple injuries and it shocked them. Moreover, Chandrasekaran said a suspicious cell phone was found just about ten feet close to the spot where the body was found.
Further, Chandrasekaran said there was a bitter enmity between his maternal uncle S Karuppasamy and Karuppaiya over a property dispute.
Therefore, Karuppasamy along with his brother and others including Muthuramalingam, Ganesan and Nagaraj could have conspired and killed Karuppaiya and Manikandan.
Citing these, Chandrasekaran submitted a petition to the Theni Superintendent of Police and demanded the arrest of those responsible for the deaths of farmers.
However, based on complaints from both the families of the victims, the police filed a case under Section 174 of Cr.P.C. (suspicious death). The exact cause of Karuppaiya’s death would be known based on a post-mortem report, sources said.
