VCK man murdered after dispute over hoisting flag

The accused, who belongs to the DMK, and the victim had been quarrelling for two months

A 24-year-old functionary of the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) was murdered by his employer and his family members, after a longstanding dispute over hoisting the party flag. The police are on the lookout for six men, including a DMK office-bearer.

According to the police, the victim Aravindan was a resident of Anna Nagar in Tirupattur and worked in a meat shop run by Anbu, the Tirupattur town deputy secretary of DMK. Around two months ago, Aravindan erected his party’s flag post in the locality. Anbu objected to this but Aravindan went ahead and hoisted VCK’s party flag.

On Tuesday night, Anbu, his four sons and brother, and Aravindan had an argument over the flag. As both parties exchanged words, Anbu’s brother Sathish stabbed Aravindan in the chest with a knife, while his sons — Deepam Raj, Saran Raj, Arun and Selvaraj — assaulted him with logs.

Aravindan suffered grievous injuries and was rushed to the Government Hospital in Tirupattur. He was referred to the Government Medical College Hospital in Dharmapuri after first aid, but he died on the way.

Based on a complaint from Aravindan’s brother Hari, the Tirupattur town police registered a case. The police have launched a manhunt for the six accused, who are absconding.

A police source said there were three cases of attempt to murder registered against Sathish in the Tirupattur town station.