TIRUNELVELI: A Hindu Munnani functionary was hacked to death near Sankarankoil in Tirunelveli district in Tamil Nadu on Friday night.
D Jeevaraj (38), former Sankarankoil town secretary of Hindu Munnani, was chatting with his friends in front of his house at Pattathur village around midnight when he was killed.
“Preliminary inquiries have revealed that three unidentified men came on a motorcycle. They sprinkled chilly powder on Jeevaraj rendering him unable to flee. Then they attacked him him with sickles,” a police officer said. The trio fled in the motorcycle as soon as Jeevaraj collapsed with multiple injuries.
The murder has shocked Hindu Munnani functionaries who have started gathering at Jeevaraj’s house in large numbers. Tirunelveli SP Narendran Nair visited the spot and held inquiry. Police have formed special teams to nab the assailants and security has been tightened across the district to prevent the situation getting out of hand. The body has been sent to government hospital at Palayamkottai for post mortem
Police said they are yet to unravel the motive for the murder. Jeevaraj has married two women identified as Ayyammal and Sharmila and has four children, two each from the women. Police are inquiring if there was any domestic angle to the murder due to friction between the two women.
“Jeeva was also doing real estate business. We are inquiring if the murder could have been a fallout of business rivalry,” police said.