Day after DMK man’s murder, six detained by police

Police said Kalaiarasan (52), who was the unit deputy secretary of DMK and former Vallam village panchayat, was hacked to death by the armed assailants to avenge the murder of Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) district representative Kannadasan, who was hacked to death along with his friend Sundar in 2012. 

According to police, Kalaiarasan was on his way back home from Chengalpattu on his motor cycle around 8 pm when the gang of 10 men on two wheelers started chasing him. The gang first knocked him off his bike. They then got down from their bikes and surrounded Kalaiarasan before hacking him to death using machetes. Police soon picked up six members of the gang, who reportedly confessed to the crime saying that Kalaiarasan was hacked to death to avenge the murder of the DMDK leader. 

Police said Kalaiarasan and Kannadasan had a bitter political rivalry which started following the Vallam village panchayat elections. Kalaiarasan’s mother had contested the elections against Kannadasan’s sister. Kannadasan’s sister won the elections and the rivalry between the duo deepened. Kannadasan along with his friend Sundar were hacked to death in 2012 and Kalaiarasan was named as the sixth accused in the case, police said adding that Kannadasan’s associates had hacked Kalaiarasan to death to avenge the murder. Tension prevailed in Vallam and nearby areas following the murder.

A large contingent of police were deployed and shops were shut expecting further violence. DMK cadre, who gathered in large numbers at Chengalpattu Government Hospital, where Kalaiarasan’s body was kept, staged a roadroko demanding the arrest of the accused. Traffic movement on the Chengalpattu Road was affected following the protest. The police said that investigation was on and some of the suspects have been taken in to custody for interrogation.