TIRUNELVELI
A grocer was abducted from his house near Thisaiyanvilai in the district in the early hours of Tuesday by an armed gang that beat him to death over his alleged illicit affair with a girl.
Police said G. Santhosh Raja (35) of Appuvilai near Thisaiyanvilai, who was sleeping in his house, was abducted by a five-member armed gang, which broke open the rear door of the house. The gang members took him to a farm near Arumuganeri and allegedly thrashed him, in which he sustained grievous injuries.
Later, they admitted Santhosh Raja to Sattankulam Government Hospital after informing the doctors that he was lying on the road with multiple injuries, apparently sustained in an accident. When the doctors declared him brought dead, the gang members escaped in a car.
As the doctors alerted Sattankulam police, the police started investigation that brought to light Santhosh Raja’s illicit affair with a woman from Arumuganeri in Thoothukudi district.
The police found that Santhosh Raja, who was running a grocery shop at Tirupur along with his brother Thangabalu Raja, married a woman from Arumuganeri seven years ago. Following frequent domestic quarrels, the woman left Santhosh Raja and married another man.
When Santhosh Raja, who closed down the shop at Tirupur and started a grocery shop at Perumalpuram in Palayamkottai, used to go to Arumuganeri to pacify his wife with the help of elders in his family, he met another woman of the same area and continued contact with her through social media. Even though the woman’s relatives warned Santhosh Raja to give up his close association with her, he continued it.
The police suspect that the murder was due to the illicit affair he had with the woman. The police also found that the gang was hired by a realtor from Arumuganeri, who is also an office-bearer of a political party.
While Thisaiyanvilai police have registered a case of abduction, Sattankulam police have registered a case of murder. Thisaiyanvilai police have picked up five persons for interrogation.