Gang rivalry leads to twin murders in Kovilpatti, nine arrested

Tuticorin: Two murders, believed to be retaliatory in nature, took place within a span of 30 minutes on Sunday night in a shocking escalation of violence at Kovilpatti in Tuticorin district. The murders sent shockwaves in the region.

According to police sources, A Pragadheeswaran, 20, of Valluvar Nagar, was hacked to death near a Tasmac shop on Kadalaiyur Road. He had reportedly engaged in a heated argument with a group of men before being brutally attacked. The assailants, believed to be from a rival faction, fled the scene immediately after the murder.

Less than half an hour later, a gang believed to be aligned with Pragadheeswaran retaliated by storming the residence of B Kasthuri, 50, at Shenbaga Nagar in Pudhugramam, and hacked her to death. Kasthuri, who died on the spot, was the mother of B Sathish, 22—one of the alleged attackers involved in the earlier incident. Her brother, S Shenbagaraj, who attempted to intervene, sustained injuries in the attack and was admitted to Kovilpatti govt hospital.

The Kovilpatti East police rushed to both crime scenes, recovered the bodies, and sent them for postmortem. As a precautionary measure, Pragadheeswaran's body was sent to Virudhunagar Government Medical College Hospital, while Kasthuri's was taken to Tirunelveli Government Medical College Hospital.

Preliminary investigations suggest that long-standing enmity between the two families led to the murders. Police revealed that Pragadheeswaran had a prior conflict with Sathish over damage to a wedding banner. On Sunday night, Sathish and his friends allegedly carried out the attack on Pragadheeswaran. In retaliation, Kasthuri was murdered at her home.

Tuticorin superintendent of police, Albert John, confirmed that nine suspects have been taken into custody in connection with the double murder.

"A force of 90 police under additional SP oversaw vulnerable areas. DSP Kovilpatti and team secured four accused within minutes of the incidents. This prevented murders from escalating into a law and order concern," he added.

Further investigation is underway.