Last rites of firing victims performed

Paramakudi: The final rites of the victims of Paramakudi police firing was performed in a tense atmosphere in their native villages in Ramanathapuram district on Tuesday.
After much resentment, relatives and family members of the victims received the bodies from the government hospitals at Ramanathapuram and Madurai on Monday night. They were taken to their home villages even as police tailed them to prevent any untoward incidents on the way.However, the villagers opposed police entering the villages. Police too stopped their vehicles at the village entry points to avoid any flaring up of emotions.
At Manjur, the native place of one of the victims, Jayapaul (29), the villagers threatened that there would be mass suicide if the police entered the village. Jayapaul, the only son of Pandi and Indira, was working in brick kiln. He was married only a year ago and his wife Gayathri was nine months pregnant. She fell unconscious soon after the news of his death reached her and is now being treated at the government hospital. "The sufferings for my daughter-in-law has started,'' said a sobbing Pandi.
At Keelakodumalur, the police were present at the burial yard and were issuing instructions to villagers who were there to perform final rites of V Theerpukani (21), a third year polytechnic student. However, after stiff opposition from the villagers the police allowed them to perform the last rites. Theerpukani was the first person from the village to pursue higher education. His body was buried as the relatives were demanding a re-postmortem.
The Immanuel Sekaran memorial committee founder P Chandra Bose told TOI that they he had given instruction to victim families not to cremate the body as they want re-postmortem to be done.
Meanwhile, Puthiya Tamizhagam leader K Krishnaswamy called upon the injured at the Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai.