A 26-year-old man avenged his father’s murder after 25 years by hacking to death Sappani Saravanan, 57, one of the accused in the 2001 killing of Pushparaj, near Solai Alagupuram in Madurai on Saturday. Police arrested Pushparaj’s son Balamurugan and 11 others within five hours of the killing.
Madurai: A 26-year-old man avenged his father’s murder after 25 years by hacking to death Sappani Saravanan, 57, one of the accused in the 2001 killing of Pushparaj, near Solai Alagupuram in Madurai on Saturday. Police arrested Pushparaj’s son Balamurugan and 11 others within five hours of the killing. Police said Pushparaj, a notorious rowdy from West Masi Street, was murdered by an eight-member gang in 2001. Around 8.15am on Saturday, Balamurugan and his accomplices arrived in an autorickshaw and two-wheelers in front of a seat cover shop near Jaihindpuram Second Main Road. A special team of Jaihindpuram police led by inspector Boominathan under the supervision of DCP (South) A G Inigo Thivyan arrested 12 accused within five hours.
Three of them were murdered by Pushparaj’s friends, police said. Saravanan, a resident of Sappani Kovil Street in Solai Alagupuram, was one of the accused in the case, while five others have since died. A preliminary investigation found that Balamurugan had been waiting for an opportunity to kill Saravanan. Armed with knives, they surrounded Saravanan and his family members and attacked him, inflicting injuries on his head, abdomen, hip and hands. When Saravanan’s wife and son tried to intervene, the gang threatened and assaulted them. Saravanan was rushed to Government Rajaji Hospital, where doctors declared him dead. Police are investigating further.
They were subsequently remanded in judicial custody on Sunday.