DMK spokesperson's murderer absconds, Tamil Nadu cops trace him to Sion

Accused Prakash Pandian being escorted by cops

Almost seven years after a Tamil Nadu (TN) councillor and her husband, a DMK spokesperson, was attacked by a group of seven people suspected to be members of the All India Forward Bloc, and killed on the spot, Mumbai Crime Branch officers arrested one of the accused from his hideout in Sion. The arrested accused, 31-year-old Prakash Pandian, was hiding in the area since the last two years.

According to the police, in 2012, the couple - Virudhunagar municipality Councillor Dhanapandiammal and DMK Spokesperson S R Nagarajan - were on their way to a temple on a two-wheeler when the gang followed them and knocked their vehicle down. Then they attacked the duo with sharp-edged weapons. While the councillor died on the spot, Nagarajan succumbed to his injuries on the way to the hospital.

Ajay Sawant, senior PI of Anti-Extortion Cell (AEC) said then the TN police had arrested all the accused, but they were released on bail. During that time, some DMK members attacked them and even killed one of them. Thereafter, the court had given them police protection. That is when Pandian escaped to Mumbai.

As he remained absent for court proceedings, the court issued non-bailable warrants against him. The TN cops had visited Mumbai twice but failed to trace him. On Friday, the AEC officers helped them lay a trap in Sion and arrest him. A police officer said, "This is a political issue which started in 1985 when DMK members allegedly killed senior leader of All India Forward Bloc Velatevar. Since then the party has been looking for the person behind the conspiracy. And then this gang killed the husband-wife duo in 2012."

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