The BJP on Saturday called for a Statewide general strike in Tamil Nadu on Monday and demanded a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the murder of its 52-year-old State unit general secretary V Ramesh, popularly known as ‘Auditor Ramesh’.
A gang of four unidentified miscreants attacked Ramesh in Salem on Friday around 9 pm while he was returning home from the party office, Salem range Police DIG Sanjay Kumar said. Ramesh died on the spot. A total of 17 stab injuries were found on his body, doctors at the Salem Government hospital confirmed.
He is the fourth prominent Hindu leader to be murdered in Tamil Nadu in the last msix months. Earlier, in October 2012, Dr Arvind Reddy, the young secretary of State BJP’s medical wing, was murdered in Vellore. Similarly, Velliayappan, a Vellore-based Hindu Munnani leader was killed on July 1, 2013.
Nambu, alias Kuttainambu, the Rameshwaram district leader of the Hindu Munnani too was murdered with injuries in the chest and head caused by a boulder.
The attack on Ramesh, who was also associated with the RSS, triggered protests in the State. Sporadic incidents of stone pelting were also reported.
The attack was roundly condemned by BJP’s national leaders with Gujarat Chief Minister and party’s election campaign chief Narendra Modi and leader of Opposition in the lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj calling for immediate action against the guilty.
“BJP leaders are being attacked in a planned manner. It is apparent that all these attacks are undertaken with detailed planning and after surveillance of the movements of these activists. Each of these attacks has been gruesome and brutal,” BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said.
The BJP asked the Tamil Nadu Government to set up a SIT to probe the targeted attacks on its leaders in the Southern State. “Killing of our Tamil Nadu unit’s general secretary V Ramesh is shocking. Spoke to TN BJP President last night and expressed sadness on the killing...The culprits must be punished at the earliest,” Modi tweeted. Swaraj also tweeted demanding a thorough probe.
As a precautionary measure, authorities ordered closure of schools in Salem on Saturday.
BR Haran, a political commentator, said it is strange that all the victims including Ramesh have been campaigning against ‘love Jihad’ and religious conversions in the region. “All were soft spoken and dedicated activists of various Hindu outfits. There were no cases of any kind against these people and it is a disturbing trend,” Haran said.
BJP State president Pon Radhakrishnan accused the State Government of not providing security to his party leaders and those behind the murder of three party leaders have not been arrested yet.