FRONT PAGE | Saturday, January 9, 2010 | Email | Print | 
Cop bleeds to death as TN Ministers watch
Swati Das | Chennai
Security guards chase assailants ignoring the dying victim
A Sub-Inspector (SI) in Tirunelveli district, R Vetrivel (44), attached to the Alwarkurichi police station was murdered in broad daylight by an armed gang. Two State Ministers, who were witness to the murder, stopped at the scene and their escort police gave hot chase to the assailants, but bombs were hurled at them too. Vetrivel’s family now accuses the Ministers of not providing timely help to save the cop’s life.
The Thursday incident that shocked the nation, according to police sources, is a case of mistaken identity. They claim that case became clear soon after the incident as two motorbikes were found at the site of the incident, one of them with a photocopy of registration book of its owner.
The owner of the bike is A Kandasamy whose sister was married to Kadayam SI Sivasubramaniam, who is currently away in Sabarimalai. There is a dowry harassment case lodged against Sivasubramaniam by his wife. Sivasubramaniam had apparently told his colleagues that he suspects his brother-in-law was planning to kill him.
Police sources claim that Sivasubramaniam and Vetrivel have similar height, built and features. As Vetrivel was returning to Alwarkurichi after an assignment in Ambasamudram for lunch on his motorcycle at 2.40 pm and wearing a helmet, he was presumed to have been mistaken for Sivasubramaniam. The assailants first hurled a country bomb at Vetrivel which landed on his right leg, severing it. Seeing him still alive the assailants then used sickles to gash his neck, head and other parts of his body. The attack took place on Alwarkurichi Bridge over Gadana River.
Even as the incident was taking place State Health Minister MRK Panneerselvam and Environment and Sports Minister TPM Moideen Khan were passing by with a high level official team. They were proceeding from Ambasamudram to Kadayanallur to inspect areas where hundreds of persons have been affected by a strange viral disease. They saw the assailants numbering six to seven persons rushing into the adjacent fields. The escort policemen in the team gave them a chase. But the assailants lobbed country bomb at them too. One of the escort policemen M Duraimurugan opened three rounds of fire at the assailants. But they escaped.
Vetrivel was then taken into one of the convoy vehicles to Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital, where he was declared brought dead. Doctors claimed that he had lost too much blood. Vetrivel is survived by his wife and two young sons.
Vetrivel’s relatives on Friday have alleged that his life could have been saved had the Ministers and Government officials in the convoy assisted him immediately. They also claimed that despite the post they hold the two Ministers did not come forward to help.
A video footage taken by an amateur cameraman covering the Ministers’ programme shows that Vetrivel was bleeding profusely and begged for help. Neither of the Ministers, shocked by the incident, got off their vehicle. The District Collector M Jayaraman called for an ambulance. When the ambulance did not arrive, Vetrivel was taken in one of the escort vehicles. After Vetrivel was carried away, the Ministers got off their cars.
However, official sources have denied that Vetrivel was left to bleed. They clarified that because of the encounter and for security reasons the VIPs did not get off their vehicles immediately. But all help was extended to Vetrivel once the encounter ended.
Vetrivel, hailing from Uppathoor in Virudhunagar district, joined the police force in 1988. He was part of the Special Task Force that nabbed and killed forest brigand Veerappan on October 18, 2004, during Jayalalithaa's regime. He received a double promotion to become an SI in 2005 as a reward.
Email | Print | Rate:
|