Nanguneri double murder: Family receives body after six days

The family of physically challenged Scheduled Caste youth John, who was murdered by an armed gang belonging to an intermediate caste at Perumpathu Indra Colony near Nanguneri on the night of March 2, received his body on Monday and performed the last rites.

After a series of negotiations by police and government officials with the victim’s wife Kannagi, a non-verbal woman with two girl children, and relatives, they agreed to receive the body, which was handed over to them at the Cadaver Research Centre on Palayamkottai – Tiruchendur Highway around Monday noon. The body was taken to Perumpathu Indra Colony with tight police protection and buried around 2.30 p.m.

When John, 42, migrant brick kiln worker from Odisha Trianth Katta, 50, and a few others were standing in front of a roadside teashop in Perumpathu Indra Colony on the night of March 2, an armed gang that came on three bikes hacked all of them indiscriminately with lethal weapons.

While John and Trinath were killed on the spot, A. Nelson, 55, V. Ramasamy, 80, P. Prabhakaran, 50, all from Nadar Street in Perumpathu, and A. Ganesan, 50 of Meerankulam sustained grievous multiple cut injuries. The assailants also hacked S. Sasikumar, 40, at Kadamboduvazhvu near Kalakkad and took his bike.

As this unprovoked killing of innocents triggered statewide outrage from all sections of society, the police, after forming three special teams, nabbed S. Kannan, 21, P. Antony Michael, 18, M. Subbaiah alias Subhash, 19, S. Kalyani, 19, all from Thennimalai, A. Uchimakali alias Mittai, 20, of Valliyoor, M. Vasanthakumar, 21, of Nedunkulam, and M. Raja, 19, of Nanguneri.

Subbaiah and Kalyani have also been accused of attempting to murder SC student Chinnadurai and his younger sister after trespassing into their house in Nanguneri on August 9, 2023.

During investigation, the police found that posters released by a few from Perumpathu Indra Colony in memory of encountered history-sheeter ‘Manalmedu’ Shankar was the immediate reason for this attack.

The family of John refused to accept the body while other villagers blocked road and held other protests near their village as four others from their hamlet had been hacked by them. They said the “oppressive forces from an intermediate caste” had unleashed this attack.

The police persuaded the protesters to accept the body of John on Monday while the family of Trinath Katta had received the body and cremated it here on the next day itself. Even though John’s family was given ex-gratia and promised of a free house, no such relief was given to the family of Trinath Katta, the villagers said.