A large number of Bharaitya Janata Party workers and ex-servicemen staged a protest in Krishnagiri and many parts of Tamil Nadu on Thursday demanding stringent action against the assailants of M Prabhu, an Army soldier, who succumbed after he was severely thrashed by a DMK functionary and his accomplices in Pochampally in Krishnagiri district.
Prabhu, who was posted in Srinagar with the Military Police, had been to his native Vellampatti village, Poochampally, on leave.
He was expected to report for duty on February 10, according to Rama Nandagopal, president of Krishnagiri district BJP ex-servicemen wing.
But on February 8, an altercation ensued between the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam functionary Chinnaswamy and Prabhu and the latter's elder brother Prabhakaran, serving as gunner in the Indian Army, over washing clothes near the town panchayat's water tank.
Later, in the evening, both the brothers were attacked allegedly by Chinnaswamy and his men.
Prabhu was admitted to a private hospital in Hosur where he succumbed on February 15 while Prabhakaran is undergoing treatment at a hospital.
Nandagopal said during his interaction with some of the affected family members, he came to know that Prabhu and his brother Prabharakan rushed to their father Madhaiyan's rescue when he was first attacked by a group of men.
"In a trice, both the brothers found themselves surrounded by about 10 armed men who dealt them severe blows. The brothers, who were unarmed, attempted to resist the attack but in vain. Prabhu swooned. The women in the family had to admit them to hospital," he told PTI.
Retired junior warrant officer of Indian Air Force, Isaivanan M said, "Such an atrocious incident has never occurred anywhere in the country. A soldier is well-respected everywhere but here this murder has brought shame to Tamil Nadu."
"The attackers should be given maximum punishment to serve as deterrent to others," Isaivanan who is state secretary, BJP ex-servicemen wing, added.
A first information report registered by the Nagarasampatty police, Krishnagiri district, named 9 people including Chinnaswamy and his son Gurusuryamoorthy as accused.
Veteran Lt Col N Thiagarajan, who is senior vice president of TN Akhil Bharatiya Poorva Sainik Parishad, said the DMK councillor and his aides beating a soldier to death is unfortunate and highly condemnable.
"This is very disturbing. Stringent action should be taken on the attackers," he said.
In a memorandum submitted to the Director General of Police, Lt NK Raman, state president, BJP Ex-Servicemen Wing, sought a direction to the Krishnagiri Superintendent of Police to detain Chinnaswamy and others involved in the crime under the Goondas Act.
"This type of atrocities defaming our defence personnel is a challenge to national integrity and national security," he said and sought protection to Lance Naik Prabhu's family.
Speaking to reporters in Krishnagiri, Superintendent of Police Saroj Kumar Thakur said all the nine people involved in the crime have been arrested and remanded.
"There is no political angle to this case. The police will provide all assistance to the victims' family and is commited to ensuring justice to Thiru Prabhu and his family," he said.
BJP State vice president Narayanan Thirupathy while addressing mediapersons said this latest murder incident indicated that crimes were on the rise in the state.
He demanded justice to the soldier's family.
