Eerie silence prevails in Nanguneri after double murder with caste overtone

The recent double murder in Nanguneri, which was initially believed to be an attack unleashed by a group of intoxicated youth without provocation, has emerged, after investigation, as an assault orchestrated by a dominant intermediate caste to silence youth from other communities.

During investigation, police found that a group of Paraiyar community youths from Indra Colony in Perumpaththu had recently released posters glorifying ‘Manalmedu’ Shankar, a lorry driver from the Delta region who was killed in an encounter with the police in February 2007. He was facing several murder, abduction and drug smuggling cases. As ‘Manalmedu’ Shankar attacked the police and tried to escape from their custody when he was being escorted to Madurai Central Prison from the court , he was shot dead in self-defence, the police had then claimed.

As these posters of ‘Manalmedu’ Shankar pasted around Nanguneri and along the highways to commemorate his death anniversary reportedly angered members of an intermediate caste living in a few hamlets around Nanguneri, they attacked some people who were standing in front of a roadside teashop at Indra Colony near Perumpaththu on Monday (March 2, 2026) night.

Of the seven suspects arrested in connection with the double murder and the hacking of seven others, two — Subbaiah alias Subhash (19) and Kalyani (19) — have been cited as accused in an earlier attack case. The duo was also named as accused in a sexual harassment case.

Even though the deployment of heavy police protection in and around Perumpaththu has effectively prevented untoward incidents, an eerie silence prevails in Nanguneri after the double murder with caste overtone.

The body of John, a Paraiyar community youth murdered in this attack, is still lying in the mortuary of Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital as the families refused to receive the body. When Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi chief Thol. Thirumavalavan spoke to John’s family over video call on Tuesday (March 3), the family members made it clear that they would receive the body only after due action against the attackers.

Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker M. Appavu, who visited the injured undergoing treatment in Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital on Tuesday night along with District Collector R. Sukumar, assured the affected families of medical treatment to expedite their speedy recovery. “Since the culprits involved in the attack have been arrested, the families should co-operate the police in the ongoing investigation,” Mr. Appavu appealed .