Tale of horror: The convicts coming out of the trial court at Poonamallee. The Madras High Court set aside the sentence imposed on six of the convicts and acquitted them of all charges for want of evidence. File
| Photo Credit: D. Gopalakrishnan
It was pitch dark. Hardly anyone, except some constables, was available in the police station at Maathoor, a village 16 km from Chidambaram in the then South Arcot district. At 2 a.m. on April 7, 1991, a gang of more than 10 armed men descended on the Puthur police station and attacked the personnel in an attempt to loot the arms and ammunition kept there. A constable reported that 15 unidentified persons came as a gang and attacked the policemen. One of the constables, K. Rajendran, died.
‘Lest we forget: In fond memory of K. Rajendran, who was killed by Naxalities when they attacked the Puthur police station on April, 7, 1991,’ reads an inscription on the pedestal of Rajendran’s bust installed in 1992 on the office premises of the Superintendent of Police in Cuddalore.
SP’s account
After the attack, Superintendent of Police S.R. Jangid said the unidentified persons were in possession of lethal weapons, including country-bombs, and they had also opened fire. According to the prosecution, 11 of the attackers were members of Tamilar Viduthalai Padai, a separatist organisation founded with the aim of creating an independent Tamil nation. The outfit was started in the mid-1980s by Tamilarasan, an engineering student, belonging to Ponparappi near Ariyalur district. Its members looted banks and stole weapons from police stations. In January 1986, the outfit had allegedly detonated a bomb at a bridge on Thanjavur-Thiruvaiyaru Road a day before the then Prime Minister was scheduled to pass the route. It also had a hand in the bombing of the Rockfort Express in 1986. Tamilarasan was reportedly lynched after a failed bid to loot a bank. Subsequently, many leaders led the outfit.
On April, 3, 1991, the militants of the outfit assembled secretly at the house of one Dhanasekaran at Iyappan Naiken Pettai near Kaduveti village and hatched a plan to attack the Puthur police station for looting the arms and ammunition. Eight of them, armed with country-made guns, sickles, and knives, went to the police station around 9.00 p.m. on April 6. They were waiting outside for an opportune moment. But they could not execute their plan for some reasons. They went again to the police station at 2 a.m. on April 7. Constable Rajaram was guarding the station.
Constable shot at
Two men of the gang knocked at the door. A constable opened the door. Immediately, the two armed men attacked him with a ‘veecharuval’ and a knife. On hearing the commotion, two other constables woke up. Sundaramurthy, yet another constable, rushed to the entrance. One person from the crowd shot at him with a country-made gun, hitting him in the thigh. Then, one of the gang members attacked him with a knife and another with a ‘pichuva’ knife. When another constable, Shanmugam, reached the entrance of the station, two armed men attacked him with a ‘veecharuval’. He collapsed with injuries. Rajendran rushed to the rescue of the injured constables. Two armed men attacked him with an ‘aruval’. When Rajendran tried to escape, they chased and attacked him. Rajendran died instantaneously.
The sub-inspector was also attacked by the gang, which tried to steal the arms from the armoury, but could not succeed. Then the militants ran away.
Waiting for doctors
The Kattumannargudi circle inspector rushed to the Kattumannargudi Government Hospital where the injured constables were waiting for treatment as no doctor was available. Then they were shifted to the government hospital at Chidambaram. Meanwhile, Rajendran’s body lay in front of the station.
On May 20, 1991, the investigation into the case was transferred to the Crime Branch-CID. It filed a charge sheet against the group comprising Soo alias Sundaram; Venkatesan; Amulraj alias Selvam; Kumar alias Gopal; Nallarasu; Ravi alias Velmurugan; Senguttuvan alias Manimaran; Lenin; Elangomani; and Murugesan. They were charged under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code, the Arms Act, and the Explosive Substances Act.
Nine convicted
During the trial, Lenin died, and Elangomani turned an approver. The case was tried with the remaining persons listed as accused. Special public prosecutor N. Vijayaraj said the trial court had framed charges after examining 50 witnesses, 78 documents, and 40 material objects. The accused who turned approver spoke vividly about the attack. Prosecution witnesses, including the injured constables, identified the accused persons in court and at a parade.
On March 24, 2014, the special sessions court for exclusive trial of bomb blast cases at Poonamallee convicted nine persons and sentenced them to life imprisonment. Another person got 10 years in jail.
On appeal, the Madras High Court set aside the sentence imposed on Sundaram, Venkatesan, Nallarasu, Senguttuavan, Ravi, and Murugesan and acquitted them of all charges for want of evidence. However, the court confirmed the life imprisonment awarded to Suba Elavarasan, Amulraj, and Kumar, who have filed an appeal in the Supreme Court. Keep up to date with https://ku88.pro/mobile , follow our page!
Published – March 02, 2025 11:00 pm IST