Villagers and relatives of the murdered youth staging a road blockade at Poomparai on upper Kodaikanal hills on Friday.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
A 25-year-old man from Arunthathiyar community was allegedly hacked to death with a sword by a caste Hindu man in Poomparai village in upper Kodaikanal hills in Dindigul district on Thursday night. A 16-year-old boy, who was with the victim, was also injured in the attack and he has been admitted to Kodaikanal Government Hospital for treatment.Police said Ramar, 25, was cultivating crops in a small piece of land and rearing a horse. A year ago, his horse reportedly destroyed the crop cultivated by Ragu, 23, of Prabakaran Street. Ragu scolded Ramar over this.On Thursday evening, Ragu came to Ramar’s house and urged him to take away his horse which was grazing in his field.When Ramar went there with two friends, Ragu allegedly pulled out a sword and attacked Ramar, inflicting multiple injuries on him. With severe blood loss, Ramar was rushed to the Primary Health Centre in Poomparai, where the doctor declared him brought dead.As the news spread, villagers gathered in large numbers and squatted on the ghat section road on Friday morning. Traffic on the road was paralysed for a few hours, and officials held talks with the protesters, but to no avail.Meanwhile, some relatives of Ramar and local youth set Ragu’s two-wheeler on fire, prompting the police to post pickets in the area.The protesters demanded immediate arrest of the accused, a government job to one of the family members of the victim, and due compensation to the family.Dindigul Superintendent of Police Jeyakumar, Revenue Divisional Officer Keerthana and others assured the protesters of proper action, following which they allowed Ramar’s body to be taken for a post-mortem at Government Dindigul Medical College and Hospital.A case had been registered and the prime accused held, a senior officer said. Further investigation is on. Published - July 31, 2026 08:38 pm IST
