6 get double life term for bid to kill dalit panchayat chief

Madurai: The additional district court No II for PCR Act cases in Tirunelveli on Thursday sentenced six people to double life terms in prison for attempting to murder a dalit panchayat president in 2011. They were also fined Rs2.4 lakh to be paid as compensation to the victim.

P Krishnaveni, then panchayat president of Thalaiyuthu, was brutally attacked by a gang on 13 June 2011 after she passed a resolution to construct a public toilet on govt land for women. Since the proposed toilet was near the property of one Subramanian from the village, he opposed it, but Krishnaveni passed the resolution. Irked, Subramanian and his accomplices attacked Krishnaveni with sickles, injuring her critically. She suffered cut injuries on her face, shoulder and neck. She spent several months in Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital for recovery and lost part of her right ear and two fingers.

Thalaiyuthu police filed a case and arrested Subramanian, Sultan Maideen, Jacob, Karthik, Vijayaramamurthy, Praveenraj, Natarajan, Ramakrishnan and Santhanamari. After a trial lasting several years, judge K Sureshkumar found the six accused guilty while acquitting Ramakrishnan and Santhanamari. Natarajan died during the trial. The court sentenced Subramanian and five others to double life terms while imposing a Rs1.1 lakh fine on Praveenraj and Rs1.3 lakh on five others. He ruled that the penalty is to be paid as compensation to Krishnaveni.

All six were produced before the court when the judgment was pronounced, after which they were taken to prison. Tirunelveli SP N Silambarasan appreciated the police team from Thalaiyuthu station, which investigated the case resulting in the conviction of the accused.

Courtesy : TOI

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