TN district tense after CPI leader hacked to death

Tension prevailed in Needamangalam in Tamil Nadu's Tiruvarur district on Thursday after the murder of a CPI leader by a gang of ten people.

The incident took place on Wednesday.

The deceased, Nadesa Thamizharvan (50) was the Needamangalam union secretary of the CPI for the past ten years and has been at the forefront of several land-related agitations for the farmers at Needamangalam. The CPI leader was hacked to death while he was standing near the panchayat committee office. Police said that a gang of ten attacked him with sharp weapons and fled the scene. Thamizharvan died on the spot.

A 200-member strong police force led by Tiruvarur district Superintendent of Police, V. Vijayakumar was camping at the area where CPI cadres took to the streets and forced down the shutters of shops and business establishments in the area.

The CPI cadres and leaders who reached the spot did not allow the police to remove the body of the deceased leader and demanded immediate arrest of the culprits.

Thanjavur Deputy Inspector General of Police, Pravesh Kumar who visited the spot told IANS that the police have identified the culprits and that they would be arrested soon.

Police said that Thamizharvan had in addition to cases related to fighting for the farmer's rights a few criminal cases and rivalry regarding that may be the reason for his murder. The police also suspect the role of a former CPI functionary who quit the party and joined another party behind the murder.

CPI local leader Muthumaran while speaking to IANS said, "Nadesa Thaizharvan was a leader by his own rights and has been the party union secretary for the past ten years. One cannot be a party leader continuously in a local area without people's support and the police cases against him were only political and he had no criminal background. We want the police to arrest the culprits immediately or the party would resort to agitations."