A 56-year-old man was was murdered to death by two persons in his office in Tamil Nadu’s Thoothukudi district on Tuesday. The victim, identified as Lourdes Francis, was allegedly attacked by sand miners after he informed his higher-ups about the illegal sand miners in the area, preliminary probe found.
On Tuesday afternoon, two people trespassed Francis’s office, attacked him and fled from the spot. Francis was seriously injured and was rushed to a government hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
Police have registered a case and filed an FIR against two accused–Ramasubramanian and Marimuthu– who were allegedly actively involved in illicit sand quarrying along the Thamirabarani watercourse.
While Ramasubramanian has been detained, police have formed special teams to nab Marimuthu.
Collector of Thoothukudi, Senthilraj, said: “Around 12:30pm [Tuesday], two men entered the office and attacked him. He received grievous injuries on arms and there was a deep cut in his skull. He was rushed to the hospital 20 minutes after he was hacked but unfortunately he died. He was an honest and brave officer. Efforts are on to nab the accused at the earliest.”
Meanwhile, the family of Francis has demanded stringent punishment for the illegal sand miners. Speaking to News 18.com, the brother of Francis alleges that his brother did face threats earlier and had filed a complaint with the police.
“My brother had received threats before and had filed a police complaint but no action was taken despite his complaint. He was attacked before as well. Just because he stopped two people from illegally taking sand, he wouldn’t be murdered. We think there is more to it and needs to be probed thoroughly. He was always an honest government officer,” said Yagatham.
Family demands stringent action against the accused. “What is the point in putting these accused behind bars for just a few months? If they walk out of jail in three or six months, they will again kill another honest officer the same way. We demand stringent punishment against those who killed my brother,” Yagatham added.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin announced a solatium of Rs 1 crore and promised a government job for the deceased family.
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