Puducherry: Puducherry, a sleepy beach town off the Bay of Bengal characterised by its post-colonial French influence, has witnessed a series of murders involving gangs that has shattered the peace.
Political or business rivalries are thought to be the main reasons for the murders and family disputes in some other cases. But it is the involvement of gangs in most cases that is raising concerns among the public.
Pududcherry’s inter-gang rivalry started to show its ugly face, giving clues to its comeback after a decade with the brutal murder of former Speaker and Agriculture Minister, VMC Sivakumar in broad daylight at his home town in Neravy, Karaikal.
A number of incidents followed including the murder of an anti-social element by a gang near Kokku Park on the East Coast Road here on February 15. The victim, Murali, 25, of Lawspet, is one of the accused in the sensational murder of R. Jagan in 2012.
In the month of April itself, seven persons lost their lives in various incidents. On April 3, Veerappan a former councillor and relative of Welfare Minister M. Kandasamy was hacked to death by an unidentified gang at Periya Kaatupalayam in Cuddalore. The minister has alleged that the murder was the fallout of political rivalry and eight persons were arrested in this connection.
A physiotherapist was arrested for murdering his father, 75, and his nephew, 13, on April 15 and for disposing the bodies after chopping them into several pieces, allegedly due to a family dispute On April 17, Koodapakkam Congress Block President Mayavan was hacked to death by a gang of two, later proved to be hired by his first wife Vimala.
Two days later, a 42-year-old functionary of All India NR Congress was allegedly hacked to death by an unidentified gang in Sansasikuppam village here where business rivalry was said to be the reason for the murder.
Velazhagan, the AINRC functionary, was killed when the gang members hurled a country-made bomb at him, which exploded. His business rival Udayakumar, along with four others, was arrested in this case.
A murder accused who came out on bail was stabbed dead in broad daylight by a gang on April 25. Two days later, a third-year Polytechnic student was murdered by a gang at Navarkulam, on the border of Puducherry near Auroville . The name of the victim was given as C. Sudhakar (21) of Lawspet, Puducherry studying in a polytechnic in Karaikal. Previous enmity is said to be the reason behind the murder.
Recent incidents have forced various political parties to target the government and the police for failing to maintain peace in Puducherry. The assembly session, which is to begin on May 16, is expected to be stormy as opposition parties are expected to raise the issue of law and order situation in Puducherry.
“Law and order in the state is facing serious threat. The increasing number of criminal cases and murders are examples of this. The government is a complete failure in unearthing the conspiracy behind many of these murders and in the manner of arresting all the culprits. To ensure prevention of crimes is also part of good governance and we would raise this issue in the assembly”, said A Anbazhagan, legislator party leader of AIADMK (Amma).
Admitting that the increasing number of murders involving gangs is not a ‘good symptom’, K Lakshminarayanan, Congress legislator and Parliamentary secretary to the chief minister, said the government is taking all possible measures to prevent crimes.
“The increasing number of murders is not a good symptom. But the govt has taken stern action in all these cases and have arrested the culprits in no time. In most cases personal revenge is pointed out as the reason. The police department is conducting fair probes and arresting all culprits involved in the cases irrespective of their ‘political connection ‘ or power,” he said. To prevent crimes the government is taking many measures including installing CCTV cameras in most areas of the town, he told DC.
No Law and order issue: SSP
he Senior Superintendent of Police Rajiv Ranjan claimed that there is no law and order issue in the Union Territory. “There is absolutely no law and order issue in Puducherry and it is completely under control. In most of the murders that happened recently, petty issues like family or business rivalry is the reason,” he told DC.
