Hindu Munnani functionary’s murder sparks tension in Tirupur

COIMBATORE: Tension prevailed as a Hindu Munnani functionary was hacked to death by unidentified assailants in Tirupur early Wednesday morning.

The deceased, Balamurugan (30), the outfit's Tirupur North Union working committee member, was chased and attacked brutally by the assailants near his residence at Kamarajar Nagar.

Police said Balamurugan stepped out of the house on receiving a phone call around 3 am. Later, he was found dead by some people around 100 metres away from his house, suggesting that he was chased and hacked to death by the assailants.

On receiving information, a police team led by Deputy Commissioner Pravin Gautham inspected the scene of the crime. A sniffer dog named ‘Hunter’ was pressed into service, while forensic experts gathered evidence from the scene of the crime. The mutilated body of the deceased was then sent for a post-mortem examination at the Government Medical College Hospital in Tirupur.

Three special teams formed to nab the culprits are probing to know the motive behind the brutal murder. As Balamurgan was involved in the financial business, an inquiry is under way to know if the murder was borne out of some financial dispute or due to previous enmity with a former functionary of the outfit.

Meanwhile, a large number of Hindu Munnani members, led by the party’s state general secretary Kishore Kumar, thronged Tirupur GH. They also resorted to a protest in front of the hospital on the Dharapuram Road, demanding the speedy arrest of the culprits. Following talks with the police, they withdrew the protest, and the family accepted the body after an autopsy.

Meanwhile, the Tirupur North police have taken two persons into custody in connection with the offence, and further investigations are on.