13 years on, six convicted for trying to kill Dalit panchayat president in Tirunelveli.

TIRUNELVELI: Six persons, including a notorious rowdy, were convicted on Tuesday in the 2011 attempt-to-murder case of an SC woman panchayat president, a case that sent shockwaves across the state. The II additional district sessions court for Protection of Civil Rights (PCR) Act cases found them guilty. The quantum of punishment for the convicts is to be delivered on Thursday.

The convicts have been identified as Subramanian (60), Sultan Maideen (59), Jacob (33), Karthik (34), Vijaya Ramamoorthy (34), and Praveenraj (32). While one of the accused persons, Natarajan, died, two persons — Ramakrishnan and Santhanamari — were acquitted.

The incident related to the case happened on June 13, 2011, when P Krishnaveni (51), the then panchayat president of Thalaiyoothu, was brutally attacked by a gang after she took steps to construct a public toilet on a poramboke land.

“Despite the lack of sufficient funds with the panchayat, Krishnaveni sought assistance from a private cement company to fund the toilet’s construction. She identified a land for the project, but the move was opposed by Subramanian, the then panchayat member, as the land was located near his house. He eventually prevented the construction work of the toilet,” said sources.

They added on the day of the incident, as Krishnaveni was returning home from her panchayat office in an auto-rickshaw, a group of armed men, including Subramanian, ambushed her. “Before Krishnaveni could get down from the vehicle, the assailants attacked her with sickles, causing severe injuries. She lost part of her right ear and two fingers, and sustained deep cuts on her shoulder and neck. The attack left her in a pool of blood, and she was later rushed to Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital, where she underwent months of treatment. She was further transferred to Stanley Medical College Hospital in Chennai for a surgery,” sources added.

The investigation of Thalaiyoothu police revealed that Subramanian, irked by Krishnaveni’s persistence in getting the public toilet constructed, had conspired with his accomplices from various BC communities including the rowdy, Jacob, to murder her. The case was widely reported, causing widespread outrage across Tamil Nadu, with political parties staging protests demanding swift justice. Judge K Sureshkumar found the six accused persons guilty.

Courtesy: New Indian Express

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