The family of physically challenged Scheduled Caste youth John, who was murdered by an armed gang belonging to a middle caste in Perumpathu Indra Colony near Nanguneri on the night of March 2, received his body on Monday and performed the last rites.
After a series of talks by police and government officials, the victim’s wife Kannagi, a non-verbal woman with two girls, and relatives agreed to take over the body, which was handed over to them at the Cadaver Research Center on the Palayamkottai – Tiruchendur Highway around noon on Monday. The body was taken to Perumpathu Indra Colony under heavy police protection and buried around 2:30 p.m.
When John (42), a migrant brick kiln worker from Odisha Trianth Katta, 50, and a few others were standing outside a roadside tea shop in Perumpathu Indra Colony on the night of March 2, an armed gang that came on three wheels hacked them all indiscriminately with deadly weapons.
While John and Trinath were killed on the spot, A. Nelson, 55, V. Ramasamy, 80, P. Prabhakaran, 50, all of Nadar Street in Perumpath, and A. Ganesan, 50 of Meerankulam, sustained severe multiple cut injuries. The assailants also hacked S. Sasikumar (40) at Kadamboduvazhvu near Kalakkadu and took his bike.
As this unprovoked killing of innocents sparked nationwide outrage from all sections of society, the police, after forming three special teams, nabbed S. Kannan, 21, P. Antony Michael, 18, M. Subbaiah alias Subhash, 19, S. Kalyani, 19, all of Thennimalai, Val alia, A. Uchi0 M. Vasanthakumar, 21, of Nedunkulam, and M. Raja, 19, from Nanguneri.
Subbaiah and Kalyani were also accused of attempting to murder a student SC Chinnadurai and his younger sister after breaking into their house in Nanguneri on 9 August 2023.
During the investigation, the police found that the immediate reason for this attack was the posters issued by some people of Perumpathu Indra Colony to commemorate the meeting with the history of ‘Manalmedu’ Shankar.
John’s family refused to accept the body while other villagers blocked the road and staged further protests near their village as four others from their village were attacked by them. They said that this attack was launched by “middle caste oppressive forces”.
The police convinced the protesters to accept John’s body on Monday, while Trinath Katta’s family accepted the body and cremated it here the next day. Although John’s family was given ex-gratia and promised a free house, Trinath Katta’s family got no such relief, villagers said.
Published – 09 March 2026 19:10 IST
