TIRUCHY: A 25-year-old died by suicide after an altercation erupted with DMK cadre during the distribution of gifts. She was allegedly attacked by the party workers in public at the Manachanallur segment in Tiruchy. Police registered a case against nine persons, arrested six persons, including a DMK branch secretary, while a hunt is on for the remaining three.
It is said that there are as many as 22 candidates, including S Kathiravan (DMK), RV Bharathan (Singa Thamizhar Munnetra Kazhagam with AIADMK symbol), V Saravanan (TVK) and R Thenmozhi (NTK), contesting in the Manachanallur Assembly constituency for the upcoming polls.
The political parties have been distributing gifts to the voters, and complaints have been lodged against the DMK and Singa Thamizhar Munnetra Kazhagam candidates with the election officials.
Against such a backdrop, on March 13 late evening, the DMK cadres were distributing silver utensils to the voters at the Vazhakattai area in Thalakudi panchayat. While they were distributing the gifts, they refused to give one to P Sinduja (25), a mother of a three-year-old girl, wife of Prasanth (30), an auto driver from the same place. So she argued with the DMK cadres, but they verbally abused her. This resulted in a heated argument between the DMK cadre and Sinduja.
When the DMK workers were about to leave the place, Sinduja warned the DMK cadres not to support the candidate Kathiravan, who was scheduled to campaign in the place on Wednesday. This triggered another round of quarrel, and suddenly, one of the cadres pulled her hair and attacked her. They also used abusive words and threatened her. This frustrated Sinduja, who did not speak to anyone on the street as she felt insulted in public.
On Tuesday night, Sinduja informed her husband Prasanth about the incident and asked him to inquire about the persons who attacked her. However, Prasanth pacified her till late at night and asked her to wait till the morning. This further frustrated Sinduja even more as she locked herself inside the room and attempted to hang herself.
On seeing this, Prasanth broke open the door, rescued her and rushed her to a private hospital. However, Sinduja died on the way to the hospital.
On Wednesday morning, the Kollidam police retrieved the body and sent it to Srirangam GH. Meanwhile, the relatives of the deceased Sinduja, who gathered at Tiruchy-Salem bypass, resorted to a roadblock, which disrupted traffic. On information, the Kollidam police rushed to the spot and held talks with the protesting relatives.
Subsequently, based on the complaint by Ilayarani, mother of Sinduja, the police registered cases under various BNS sections, including criminal intimidation, insulting modesty of a woman, abatement of suicide, and Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Women Harassment Act against nine DMK cadres and arrested Rajendran DMK branch secretary, Rajendran’s wife Rajeswari, Raja, his wife Pushpam, Ravikumar and Angumani and lodged them in prison. While police are also searching for the DMK functionaries Suresh Kumar, Rajkumar and Karthika, who absconded.
In the meantime, the AIADMK North District Secretary and former minister M Pranjothi visited the family and pacified them.