On Friday (19th April), a mob of Dravidra Munnetra Kazagham (DMK) workers allegedly attacked a woman named Gomathi for voting for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), as per local reports.
The incident occurred in the Pakkirimaniyam village in the Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu. As per a report by Dinamalar, the DMK goons came to the residence of Gomathi after learning that she had voted for the BJP.
They had a heated argument with the victim, following which they brutally assaulted her. “Why didn’t you vote for our party,” they were heard saying.
According to a report by Nakkheeran, Gomathi died on the spot after being mercilessly attacked by the DMK goons. On receiving information about the matter, the police rushed to the place.
The cops then transferred the dead body of the victim to the Vrudhachalam Government Hospital for autopsy. The police are now looking for seven accused, who are identified as Arul, Pandian, Arivumani, Ravi, Raja, Kalaimani, and Dharmaraj.
Reacting to the incident, Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai called it a very shocking incident. He tweeted that ‘DMK’s dictatorial tendency to do away with even the basic right of voting given to the citizens by the Constitution is very dangerous for democracy.’
கடலூர் மாவட்டம் ஶ்ரீமுஷ்ணம் அருகே உள்ள பக்கிரிமானியம் கிராமத்தைச் சேர்ந்த திருமதி கோமதி என்பவர், வாக்குப் பதிவு நாளன்று, குடும்பத்தினர் கண்முன்னே திமுகவினரால் அடித்துக் கொலை செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளார் என்ற செய்தி மிகுந்த அதிர்ச்சியளிக்கிறது.
— K.Annamalai (மோடியின் குடும்பம்) (@annamalai_k) April 21, 2024
தேர்தலில், தங்கள் கூட்டணிக்கு…
In the meantime, the police have arrested three women for their involvement in the murder of Gomathi.
Police deny voting angle
However, later Tamil Nadu police denied the political angle to the incident and claimed that the woman died as a result of a feud between two families. In a statement issued responding to the reports of the incident, Cuddalore District Police claimed that the woman died after falling down while trying to stop a fight between two families.
According to the police statement, there is an old enmity between the families of Kalamani and Jayashankar. As per the police, the fight is the result of teasing of Jayashankar’s daughter Jayapriya by the family members of Kalaimani. Moreover, Kalamani was also angry over Jayashankar for not withdrawing a case against him for assaulting Jayashankar’s elder brother Jayakymar.
— Cuddalore District Police (@cudpoliceoffi) April 21, 2024
The statement says that both parties were fighting each other unarmed, when Gomathi, wife of Jayakumar, tried to intervene and stop the fight. But she fell down and got injured, resulting in her death, the Cuddalore District Police said.
A case against 10 persons were booked in the case, and five of them, Kalaimani, hiw wife Deepa, and their relatives Ravi, Meghnathan and Indumani were arrested and remanded to judicial custody on 20 April.
The police stated that the allegation that she was attacked for voting in favour of a particular party is completely false, and that the video related to this incident is totally fake.
Don’t spread false news. Stern legal action follows @MrSinha_ https://t.co/5bTSQLYR03
— Tamil Nadu Police (@tnpoliceoffl) April 21, 2024
Reposting the Cuddalore District Police statement, the official handle of Tamil Nadu Police warned stern legal action against a social media user who had shared the allegation. “Don’t spread false news. Stern legal action follows,” tweeted Tamil Nadu police.
Tamil Nadu went to polls on Friday (19th April) in all 39 Lok Sabha constituencies. The ruling DMK government faces an uphill challenge in the State from the Annamalai-led BJP.
Note: This report has been updated with police statement
