TIRUCHIRAPPALLI: Six people have been arrested in the case of killing of two minor boys near Samayapuram in Tiruchirappalli district on Deepavali night, and one of the accused was shot in the leg during a weapons recovery exercise in the early hours of Wednesday (November 11), police said.
The deceased were identified as Veera Rahul and R Vishal who were aged 17. The police said the two had gone to Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Medical College Hospital near the Samayapuram toll plaza on November 8 with their six friends to visit Vignesh, who was being treated for burns from a recent firecracker accident.
According to police, the group then walked about 80 metres from the hospital to talk and then a sudden dispute broke out between the deceased Rahul and acussed Keni regarding a acquaintance with a minor girl causing the death of Rahul and Vishal who were attacked with the weapons.
The case was registered at Samayapuram police station under Section 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita with the complaint from Rahul's brother.
Following the protests by the victims' relatives, superintendent of police Dongare Pravin Umesh formed five special teams. The CCTV footage, technical evidence and witness statements helped identify the suspects, who were taken into custody.
Through their findings they identified the suspescts who were, J Keni Vence (19), J Renison (20), N Saravanan (18), P Sivanesan (21), T Kirupakaran (19)and C Hariharan(22). Keni Vence and Renison are brothers who currently live in Thoothukudi district, Samayapuram while the others hail from Samayapuram, Lalgudi and Manachanallur.
The superintendent said the accused and the victims knew each other as they lived in the same locality and had celebrated Deepavali together. "The victims and the accused were friends," he said.
The shooting happened when Sivanesan (21) was escorted to recover the weapons allegedly used in the crime on November 11. Police said he pelted stones at the team and tried to attack personnel with a weapon he had concealed, and kept going despite warnings.
Inspector K Gunasekaran opened fire, and the bullet hit Sivanesan's left knee. A police constable was also injured. Both were first taken to Srirangam Government Hospital and later shifted to Tiruchirappalli Government Hospital.
District police said the investigation was continuing and legal procedures were being followed and the exact motto behind the murder still remains undiscovered.
(With inputs from media reports)