A functionary of the Congress in the neighbouring Puducherry was hacked to death by a gang in broad daylight at Bommayarpalayam near Puducherry on the East Coast Road on Monday.
The name of the victim was given as A. Joseph, 43, a resident of Murugan Kovil Street in Kalapet and North district president of the Congress in Puducherry. Mr. Joseph was a labour contractor with Strides Shasun, a private pharmaceutical company in Kalapet.
The police said that Joseph was riding his two-wheeler from Kalapet to Puducherry when two persons wearing helmets and riding a motorcycle intercepted him in front of a beach resort on the ECR. The duo armed with sharp weapons slashed Joseph on his neck and fled the scene. The crime was committed around 12.30 p.m. Local people rushed Joseph to the Puducherry Government General Hospital where he was taken.
General shutdown
Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy visited the hospital and consoled the family members. Several shops in the area downed their shutters and a number of schools closed early fearing trouble. The police said that trouble had been brewing between two groups over the pharmaceutical company’s plan for expansion. Violence erupted during the public hearing held in May and the police invoked Section 144 of CrPC in the area.
Preliminary investigations by the police revealed that Joseph was in support of the pharmaceutical company’s plan for expansion while the other group was opposed to it.