The Ramanathapuram police arrested ‘left’ Sheikh, nephew of Najimuddin, Ramanathapuram district secretary of Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), in connection with the murder of Arun Prakash who was brutaly hacked to death in broad day light on Monday.
Arun Prakash (22) along with his friend Yogeshwaran (23) belonging to the same area were standing and talking outside an ATM on the afternoon of August 31 when a gang of 9 persons had come in 3 motorbikes and stabbed both of them. Arun Prakash succumbed to the injuries while Yogeshwaran remains critical in a private hospital.
Reports have emerged that the SDPI is trying to politicise the murder and play the victim card by saying that Sheikh has been targeted as he belonged to the minority community.
Earlier, it was said that the murder was due to ‘personal enmity’ between two gangs involved in drug peddling. However, this seems to be only half the picture.
A report by online news portal Swarajya reveals that while the murder was a sequel to a dispute between two drug cartels, it noted that a person named Suresh sent 9 of his gang members belonging to the Muslim and Servai communities to take revenge on Vicky and Kamatchi who had left the gang to start their own operations.
Quoting a local leader who wished to be unnamed, it was reported that Vicky and Kamatchi were standing at an autorickshaw when the 9 member gang led by ‘left’ Sheikh made an attempt on them. While both of them escaped, Arun Prakash who was a bystander was caught in between as they thought that he was part of Vicky and Kamatchi’s group.
Police had later detained Suresh. A manhunt was launched to find the nine members of the gang involved in the murder. The police have reportedly surrounded a forest-like area near the coast where they are believed to be hiding.
However, the police maintain that Kumar was killed in a dispute between three friends. They say that one of the three friends was a rowdy element who attacked the other two.