Police suspect connection between murders of Congress leader Jeyakumar and KN Nehru’s brother Ramajayam
The bodies of both leaders had some similarities, including the way their arms and legs were tied up and an object being stuffed in their mouths, officials told Daily Thanthi.
CHENNAI: Probing the murder of Tirunelveli district Congress president KPK Jeyakumar Dhanasingh, the Special Investigation Team suspect it to be similar to the killing of Minister KN Nehru's brother KN Ramajayam, which is yet to be resolved.
After Jeyakumar (60) went missing on May 2, his son Jebrin filed a missing person complaint at the Uvari police station the next day.
On May 4, the police recovered Jeyakumar’s charred body from his 10-acre farm adjacent to his house near Karisuthu Pudur village. His limbs were tied with steel wire, and a scrubber stuffed in his mouth. The police also recovered a handwritten letter from Jeyakumar stating that he had been received threatening phone calls.
In the morning of March 29, 2012, the body of KN Ramajayam, senior DMK leader and Minister KN Nehru’s brother, was found at Tiruvalarcholai on Tiruchy-Kallannai Road and was recovered by the Tiruchy police. He was kidnapped a day before the body was found with signs of torture.
The body had a single injury to the head, with his hands tied behind with steel wire and adhesive tape. The feet were also bound with tape and a cloth stuffed in his mouth. It is the similarity in the modus operandi that has prompted the investigators to inquire if there are any links to the two murders, said a Daily Thanthi report.
After several years of inquiry by the State police failed to make any breakthrough, the Central Bureau of Investigation took over the investigation. However, even after 12 years, the murder case is yet to be cracked.
Ramajayam was an influential figure in Tiruchy, widely perceived as the de facto leader in Tiruchy and the wider central region where his writ was considered to be orders from Nehru himself.
Meanwhile, suspecting that the killers may have burnt Jayakumar’s body using petrol, the police are checking CCTV footage from petrol pumps in the area.
The officials are questioning staff at the refuelling stations to find out if anyone had bought petrol in cans in the recent days, the Daily Thanthi report added.
After the high-profile incident took political overtones, especially after the letter that he purportedly wrote before his death alleged facing threats from Congress leader
Ruby Manoharan MLA and KV Thangkabalu, the police formed 10 special teams under the supervision of SP N Silambarasan to investigate the case.
Even as the investigators are chasing all leads, they are also waiting for the report of the detailed forensic examination, which is expected in the coming week. Bones from the body were sent for DNA testing on May 8.
Hailing from a staunch Congress family, Jeyakumar was also a government contractor and a businessman.
