The Cuddalore First Additional District Sessions Court has sentenced nine persons to life imprisonment in connection with a murder that took place following the 2019 local body elections in Pallipattu Panchayat near Cuddalore.
During the 2019 Panchayat elections, Ramachandran and Ravi contested for the post of Pallipattu Panchayat Council Chairman. After Ramachandran’s victory, tensions escalated between his supporter Janardhanan and Ravi’s supporter Kumar, both residents of the same locality.
On April 14, 2020, Janardhanan and his associate Kamalakannan (40) were engaged in conversation when a dispute broke out with Kumar. The argument soon turned violent, leaving seven people, including Janardhanan, Kamalakannan, Siva, and Jayaseelan, seriously injured. Kamalakannan later died from his injuries at the hospital.
The Cuddalore police registered a case and arrested the accused following an investigation. After the trial, Judge Saraswathi of the Cuddalore First Additional District Sessions Court delivered the verdict on Monday, convicting all nine accused.
Those sentenced to life imprisonment are Kumar (48), Venkatesan (32), Maniarasan (29), Krishnaraj (53), Silambarasan (28), Vinothkumar (28), Bharathidasan (28), Aravind (30), and Bharatraj (30). Each was also fined ₹3,000.
One of the accused, Sivaraman, reportedly died by suicide during the course of the trial. Another accused, Silambarasan, who was already serving a life term in connection with a 2022 murder case in Pagur, was produced in court from the Kalapet Central Jail in Puducherry and later returned there. The remaining eight convicts have been lodged in the Cuddalore Central Prison.
