11 held for DMK councillor’s murder

Trichy: Trichy district police arrested 11 people, including three minors, for the murder of a DMK functionary and town panchayat ward councillor on Mar 30. The gang killed the man in a turf war to maintain their feared reputation for rowdyism.A Ranjithkumar, who was DMK Thiruverumbur youth wing secretary, was also ward 11 councillor in Koothappar town panchayat, and owned a bar in Thiruverumbur. He was hacked to death by an armed gang on the night of Mar 30 while heading home on his two-wheeler near Chozhamadevi.On Apr 2, the special probe team officers stopped a suspicious two-wheeler near Cauvery Nagar and took into custody M Madhan and K. Bhuvaneswaran. Further inquiry resulted in the arrest of R Harikharan, R. Nagaraj , R. Sanjay, S Rex Lawrence, R. Suresh and P. Suren Kumar. On interrogation, it came to light that the murder was planned from inside Salem Central Prison by history-sheeter J Dinesh Kumar Bottle Mani. There was deep enmity between him and Ranjithkumar who stalled his extortion attempts.Sensing that his local supremacy was at risk, Bottle Mani directed his men to get rid of Ranjithkumar. All the accused were presented in court and sent to judicial custody.