THOOTHUKUDI: A 28-year-old police constable was killed on the spot after a double murder accused hurled a country-made bomb at a special police team attempting to arrest the man at Manakarai village near Murapanadu on Tuesday.
The constable was identified as Subramanian, hailing from Pandaravilai village near Srivaikuntam. He worked as the Alwarthirunagar police station and was part of a five-member special police team that went to Manakarai to arrest the accused Durai Muthu (30).
The team was acting on a tip-off that Muthu was in possession of country-made bombs and had conspired to kill his rivals. Muthu was hiding at a house in the outskirts of the village near the Vallanadu hills.
According to police, when the team was in pursuit of Muthu and his aides, the accused hurled country-made bombs at the police personnel and ran into the forest. The police also retaliated but Subramanian was killed on the spot as a bomb fell on him.
Police sources said that a few other personnel were also injured. Subramanian's body has been shifted to the Tirunelveli government medical college hospital in Palayamkottai for post mortem examination.
Thoothukudi SP S Jeyakumar visited the crime scene and conducted inquiries. Further investigations are on and police security has been beefed up in the region. Jeyakumar told reporters that Durai Muthu was an accused in a murder case at Tirunelveli Pettai and in a double murder case in Srivaikuntam here.
"The constable had escaped the first time the accused hurled a bomb, but the second time he hurled a country-made bomb it hit the constable's head," he said. He said that Muthu was also injured grievously in the blast and had been shifted to TVMCH. Police have arrested three of Muthu’s aides and seized a car with weapons.
Later in the evening, IG (South Zone) S Murugan, speaking to reporters, said that Subramanian’s head was shattered in the bomb blast. He said that the police team was adequately prepared to nab the accused but had been caught off-guard by the country-made bombs.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami condoled the death of Subramanian and announced a compensation of Rs 50 lakh and a government job for his family member. Subramanian is survived by his wife and their six-month-old baby.