BJP man arrested for killing friend

Coimbatore: The rural police arrested a BJP functionary on Tuesday evening for murdering his friend during a drunken brawl at Alandurai on Sunday early morning.

Police said 29-year-old K Kandasamy alias Kutti of Nallampalayam had collected money from public and spent a portion of it for Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations. He used the rest of the money to throw a party for 30 friends on Saturday night. However, one of his friends asked him to produce the accounts of the money collected and fought with him. In a fit of rage, the Kandasamy murdered him.

Kandasamy was the BJP youth wing secretary of Nallampalayam. Police said he had collected money from various shops and residents in and around Kavundampalayam and Nallampalayam for a grand Ganesh Chaturthi celebration. After the function, Kandasamy kept a portion of amount and decided to spend it for friends who supported him for the celebration.

On Saturday night, he took 30 of his friends to a farmland called Ganapathykarar thottam on Ezhuvaikkal Road in Alandurai to consume alcohol. One of his friends V Nagaraj, 21 of Nallampalayam, who was working as a supervisor in Auto Port at SIDCO, Sundarapuram asked Kandasamy to produce the account details for the money collected.

The conversation became an argument and soon both started to fight. Nagaraj allegedly pushed Kandasamy into a field on early Sunday morning while consuming liquor.

Kandasamy, who had a knife in his shirt pocket, took it out and stabbed Nagaraj on his abdomen. Nagaraj suffered severe injuries and was admitted in a private hospital where he was given first aid. He was later admitted in another private hospital.

Based on his complaint, Alandurai police registered a case against Kandasamy under Section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Kandasamy, whohad been on the run after the incident, was arrested on Tuesday evening. Police have altered the Section from 307 to 302 (murder) of IPC. Further investigation is on.