Congress party’s district president for Tirunelveli East K P K Jeyakumar Dhanasingh was found dead, partially burned, on his farm in Karaichuthupudur, near Thisayanvilai, on Saturday, May 4. The 60-year-old Jeyakumar was reported missing on Thursday night, which prompted his son Karuthaiah Jaffrin to file a missing report on Friday, reports The Indian Express
Sources close to the investigation claim that Jeyakumar’s body was discovered with electric lines tied around his hands and legs, suggesting a suspected homicide.
The matter is being investigated by the police, who are looking into a number of possibilities, including possible land dealings involving Jeyakumar.
District SP N Silambarasan has formed five special teams to look into Jeyakumar’s death. The postmortem report is being awaited.
Jeyakumar’s family alleged foul play citing a complaint he filed with the Superintendent of Police on April 30. In the complaint, Jeyakumar had alleged that he had been receiving death threats from several people following a financial dispute. He had also raised concerns about suspicious activities around his residence at night.
Meanwhile, K Selvaperunthagai, president of Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC), in his condolence message, said the party leaders were shattered at the news.
AIADMK general secretary and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Edappadi K Palaniswami, urged Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, M K Stalin, to take swift action in arresting those responsible for Jeyakumar’s death. Palaniswami also condemned the “deterioration of the law and order situation in the state”, and demanded decisive measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Citing the murder of the Congress lawmaker, the BJP and PMK also questioned the DMK government about the state of law and order.