CHENNAI: The murder of two persons in Nanguneri in Tirunelveli district has triggered a sharp political confrontation in Tamil Nadu, with the BJP accusing the ruling DMK of presiding over a collapse of law and order and unchecked narcotics proliferation across the State.
Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs L Murugan said the double murder had exposed the true state of law and order in Tamil Nadu.
Referring to the incident in Perumpaththu village near Nanguneri, the union minister alleged that a gang arriving on two-wheelers attacked innocent residents with deadly weapons, leaving two persons dead and five others injured. “The brutal assault by an intoxicated gang has shocked the people of Tamil Nadu. There is hardly a day without incidents of murder or attempted murder. Crimes against women, children and the elderly are rising,” he said in a statement.
Murugan offered condolences to the families of the victims and demanded immediate arrest of the accused, stringent action against them, compensation for the bereaved families and proper medical care for the injured. He also targeted Chief Minister M K Stalin, alleging that the government had failed to curb drug networks and restore public confidence in policing.
BJP state president Nainar Nagenthran claimed that ganja abuse had turned parts of the State into a killing field. Citing reports that six youths under the influence of ganja attacked two men at a tea shop, he said narcotics circulation had expanded across urban and rural areas over the past five years, endangering youth and public safety. “A government that cannot contain ganja cannot speak of governance,” he said.
BJP national general council member K Annamalai identified the deceased as John, a differently-abled resident, and Trinath Kata from Odisha, a brick kiln worker who was passing through the area. He said six others were hospitalised with severe injuries.
Annamalai claimed that over 65,000 kg of ganja and 8,000 kg of synthetic drugs had been seized in the State over five years, arguing that the figures reflected only a fraction of actual circulation. He also pointed to Tasmac revenues of over Rs 2.2 lakh crore in the same period as indicative of widespread alcohol availability.