6 Suspects Held In Nanguneri Unprovoked Public Attack Case

The incident occurred on Monday night, when a nine-member gang allegedly arrived on three motorcycles at Perumpathu Bazaar and indiscriminately attacked innocent pedestrians and men at a tea shop with sickles. The miscreants, reportedly masked, also hurled petrol bombs before speeding away.

John (42) of Indira Colony, Perumpathu, and a migrant worker, died on the spot. The injured have been identified as Nelson (58), son of Abraham; Prabhakaran, son of Palvannan; Ramasamy, son of Vaikundam; and Ganesan (53), son of Arumugam from Veerankulam village.

The masked gang later proceeded to the nearby village of Puliyankulam, where they attacked Sasikumar (45), son of Subramanian.

Nelson and Ganesan are undergoing treatment in a critical condition at the Tirunelveli government medical college hospital. Tension continues to prevail in the region.

Demanding stringent action against those involved in the attack, villagers of Perumpathu staged a road blockade on Tuesday morning. Despite assurances from Tirunelveli range deputy inspector general of police P. Saravanan and district superintendent of police V. Prasanna Kumar, the protesters refused to disperse and blocked the Nanguneri–Ervadi road by placing logs and boulders across the stretch. Heavy police deployment has been made in the region to prevent any untoward incidents.

Five special police teams have been formed to probe the case. ADGP (law and order) Maheshwar Dayal, along with south zone IG Vijayendra S. Bidari, are camping in Tirunelveli and are personally overseeing and reviewing the progress of the investigation.