Panchayat chief killed during morning walk

In this case too, the victim was murdered during the morning walk. According to sources Thangaraj (49), the panchayat president of Melmanampattu, near Tirumazhisai, was running a brick kiln in the same locality. On Friday morning, Thangaraj as usual was on a morning walk with his friends on Pattabhiram road, when a six-member gang armed with weapons intercepted and attacked him. Though he tried to escape from the spot, the gang chased and hacked him. The gang left the spot only after confirming that Thangaraj was dead. 

On information, Superintendent of Police Thomas, Deputy Superintendent of Police Eswaran and a team from Vellavedu police station reached to the spot and conducted enquiries. Police recovered the body of Thangaraj and sent it to Tiruvallur government hospital for post-mortem. A sniffer dog that was brought to the crime scene ran up to some distance and stopped. Special teams have been formed to nab the killers of Thangaraj. 

Meanwhile, over 100 persons, including relatives of Thangaraj, gathered in front of the Vellavedu police and blocked the Poonamalle-Tiruvallur road demanding the immediate arrest of the assailants. Based on an assurance from the police, the group withdrew its protest and dispersed from the spot. Traffic on the stretch was disrupted for over an hour due to the protest. Thangaraj was elected twice to the post of president of Melmanambedu Panchayat. But, this time the panchayat has been declared as woman’s seat. Thangaraj was earlier acquitted from a murder case in 1998. The panchayat president was also into real estate trade and had disputes with some competitors.