On 11 September 2025, police arrested the president of the Samalapuram Town Panchayat in Tiruppur district, affiliated with the DMK, on suspicion of deliberately killing a local activist by ramming his car into the victim’s two-wheeler.
According to police reports, the Town Panchayat president, identified as 60-year-old Vinayagam Palanisamy, allegedly struck down 57-year-old social activist Palanisamy from Karugampalayam. The incident occurred on the evening of 10 September near the Karugampalayam Government Primary School, along the Samalapuram-Karnampettai Road. The activist, who was riding a two-wheeler, was hit from behind by a car, thrown off the vehicle, and died at the scene.
Initially treated as a traffic accident, the case took a turn during the investigation led by the Mangalam police, who traced the vehicle involved to the Town Panchayat president. Further inquiries revealed a possible motive: the activist had previously submitted a petition to the Tiruppur District Collector, criticizing a local road project initiated by the Town Panchayat. Following the complaint, the project was suspended, allegedly causing friction between the two.
Police now suspect that the Panchayat president, reportedly under the influence of alcohol at the time, intentionally targeted the activist in retaliation for halting the road work. The investigation remains ongoing.
In response to the incident, Tamil Nadu BJP president Nainar Nagendran condemned the event via his official X account stating, “The news that DMK town panchayat president, Palanisamy, ran over and killed a social activist in Tiruppur for complaining against the laying of a tar road in a place that is not useful to the public is very shocking. If the mistakes of the Dravidian model government are pointed out, will death be the reward? Does the single identity of being a ‘DMK person’ and the power of office give one the right to take a life? When such crimes come to light, arrests are made only for the sake of eyewash, but they continue like the ‘Kannithivu’ serial. DMK members should be ashamed to boast about ‘good governance praised by the country’ after making people’s lives hell for four years and taking the lives of those who raise their voices against it!”
திருப்பூரில் மக்களுக்குப் பயன்பாடற்ற இடத்தில் தார் சாலை அமைத்ததை எதிர்த்து புகார் அளித்த சமூக ஆர்வலரைத் திமுக பேரூராட்சித் தலைவர் திரு. பழனிசாமி கார் ஏற்றிக் கொன்றதாக வெளிவந்துள்ள தகவல் மிகுந்த அதிர்ச்சியளிக்கிறது.
திராவிட மாடல் அரசின் தவறுகளை சுட்டிக் காட்டினால் மரணம் தான்… pic.twitter.com/U200ZicgkQ
— Nainar Nagenthran (@NainarBJP) September 12, 2025
(With inputs from The Hindu)
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