On Sunday 12th March 2023, shocking news surfaced from Ponneri town of Tiruvallur in Tamil Nadu where supporters of a Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) councilor allegedly killed a man in a fight that took place due to a property dispute. In the incident, a man named Balamurugan was killed after he was pelted with stones. Allegedly the aides of the DMK leader attacked him for taking the side of a woman who was in a dispute with another woman.
All the key members including Elango – the DMK councilor of ward number 17 in Ponneri – involved in this dispute are related to each other. The two women involved in the property dispute are also relatives. Ernavur Hariharan and others accused in the case are identified as supporters of the DMK councilor. CCTV footage of the incident also appeared in the media.
#BREAKING
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) March 12, 2023
Tamil Nadu: A person allegedly killed by supporters of a DMK Councillor in Tiruvallur
The incident was captured on CCTV & reportedly took place as a result of a property dispute.
Two people have been arrested.@sreeprapanch | @prathibhatweets pic.twitter.com/KfQQF9Bfv3
According to reports, the two women Nandhini and Gayathri were having a property dispute. Polimer News reported that Gayathri had already filed a complaint with the local police against Nandhini alleging that the latter forcefully thrashed her out of the house owing to some disagreement between the two. Gayathri was living on rent in the ancestral house of Nandhini. Nandhini is Gayathri’s aunt.
According to reports, after thrashing Gayathri out of the house, Nandhini kept the keys to the house with her. In the heated dispute that followed after this, the local DMK councilor Elango, his accomplices including Ernavur Hariharan, and others came in support of Nandhini to allegedly attack Gayathri and her family. Gayathri and her sister Keerthi were allegedly beaten outside the house. After this, Gayathri’s relatives Robert and Balamurugan supported Gayathri to file a complaint with the police.
Gayatri filed a complaint with the Ponneri police along with the CCTV footage related to the incident. Allegedly, the police did not take immediate action and it is said that they waved it off as a civil problem. After the complaint was filed, DMK councilor Elango and his supporters including Vinod, Dilip Kumar, and Rajkiran allegedly argued with Robert and Balamurugan and assaulted them because they had helped Gayathri to file the complaint.
Robert and Balamurugan were attacked with stones. In this attack, Robert succeeded to escape while Balamurugan sustained severe injuries. He was taken to the hospital where he was declared dead. After Balamurugan succumbed to fatal injuries in the assault, the police registered a case from both sides.
Vinod Kumar and Rajkiran have been arrested in the murder case. Dilip Kumar is absconding and the police are looking for him. Gayathri’s relatives alleged that if the police had arrested the councillor and his supporters at the beginning of the incident, the murder would not have happened.
This is not the first time that a DMK councilor’s name has been embroiled in a murder case. On 8th February 2023, a Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) municipal councillor named Chinnaswamy and his accomplices had beaten Prabhakaran, an Indian Army soldier from Krishnagiri. On 15th February 2023, Prabhakaran succumbed to the injuries.
The scuffle resulted due to a minor argument that broke out on 8th February between Prabhakaran and Chinnaswamy who objected to the soldier and his brother Prabhu washing clothes at a water tank near their house. Later on that day, they were ambushed by Chinnaswamy and others, who brutally beat Prabhakaran.
