Policeman hacked to death in Tamil Nadu while probing family dispute

Chennai: In a shocking incident, a Special Sub-Inspector of Police was hacked to death while on duty in Tiruppur district when he went to investigate a dispute between a father and his two sons who work at an estate owned by AIADMK MLA C Mahendran.

57-year-old Shanmugavel, who was serving at the Gudimangalam Police Station near Udumalpet in the district along with constable Azhagu Raja – who were on night patrol – rushed to the farm at 11 pm on Tuesday where Moorthy and his two sons, Manikandan and Thangapandian, work and reside, after receiving a complaint that they were involved in an altercation.

“When the SSI and constable Azhagu Raja reached the farm, they found the sons assaulting the father. The SSI called for an ambulance for injured Moorthy to be sent to a hospital while trying to settle the dispute. That is when all three began attacking the SSI and Manikandan took a sickle and attacked him. He died on the spot,” T Senthil Kumar, IG (West), said.

The accused also made an attempt to attack the constable and estate manager Rangasamy but they escaped and alerted the police station about the murder. “The father and sons are absconding. We have formed six special teams who are searching for them,” Senthil Kumar said.

In the evening, Director General of Police (DGP) Shankar Jiwal visited Tiruppur and paid respects to the deceased policeman and met his family. The AIADMK MLA said Moorthy was working in his farm for the last three years and the estate was managed by his manager.

While Manikandan has six criminal cases pending against him, his younger brother Thangapandian has four cases while their father has two cases, police said. A case of murder has now been registered against all the three for the killing of the police personnel.

Chief Minister M K Stalin termed Shanmugavel’s death as an “irreparable loss” and announced a solatium of Rs 1 crore to his family.

The incident gave enough fodder for the opposition parties to corner the DMK dispensation on law and order situation.

Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami tore into the government seeking to know how can one accept that a police officer who went to investigate had no security. “The only way Tamil Nadu can be safe is to send the DMK home,” he said.

BJP state president Nainar Nagendran alleged that the trio killed the SSI in an inebriated state and blamed state-run liquor outlets Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) for increase in such crimes.

"The killing of policeman in uniform last night in our state of Tamil Nadu is a sign of our society losing its soul and is on the path of moral decay."

Former TN BJP chief and ex-IPS officer K Annamalai said the "deadly cocktail of free flowing liquor, increased availability and usage of drugs and the deteriorating law and order at the ground at all levels - village to urban areas -- are the reasons for such incidents."

“It’s also time for policemen, especially at the lower levels (Sub Inspector and below), to be technically equipped. Taser guns, body cameras, increase in the procurement of India-made pistols, better patrol cars, and, most importantly, filling up the long-pending vacancies (so that policemen don’t go alone to vulnerable areas without a ‘buddy’ to tag along) are the need of the hour,” he said.