Family members of the temple guard have alleged that the cause of death of the 28-year-old was not natural, and he passed away allegedly after being beaten and tortured during police interrogation.
Amid tight security, polling for the by-election to the Tamil Nadu Assembly from Tirumangalam constituency began on a peaceful note with about 15 per cent of the total 1.55 lakh electorate, exercising their votes by 1000 hrs, officials said.
Judicial Magistrate has been asked to investigate the allegations of poll violations by M.K. Stalin, son of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, M Karunanidhi and register case, State Chief Electoral Officer Naresh Gupta said today.
An accused, arrested in connection with planting of a pipe bomb on BJP leader L K Advani's Jan Chetna yatra route near here, caused a flutter in a court on Tuesday when he slit his throat in a bid to commit suicide.
Judicial Magistrate of Tirumangalam near Madurai issued the warrant against Panneerselvam, former ministers K A Senottaiyan and Pollachi Jayaraman and 17 others on Friday.
A pipe bomb was recovered from the outskirts of Madurai on Saturday, the route which was to be taken by Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani on the second leg of his yatra. The five-feet long bomb, linked to a 50-metre wire and four detonators and batteries, was found under a culvert at Alampatti near Tirumangalam, 30 km from Madurai, said the police. One person, identified as Nehru, has been detained for interrogation, said the police.
A sum of Rs two crore was on Wednesday seized from the residence and other premises of a Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam candidate and his son at Karur, a senior electoral officer said.
Raising questions about the impartiality of the Election Commission ahead of Lok Sabha polls, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi said on Wednesday the EC should prove by its deeds that it was a neutral body.
MDMK chief Vaiko today charged the UPA Government with helping Sri Lanka by giving arms, which enabled that country's army to capture the "deserted" Killinochi and said the LTTE will win the war ultimately.
If Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami lives by the rulebook, so does his colleague Navin Chawla. Only that the book is written by him and the rules are his own.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam candidate Latha Athiaman is leading by more than 5000 votes over All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's Muthuramalingam after the first round of counting of votes in the bypoll to the Tirumangalam assembly constituency, for which elections were held on Janury 9.
Evading the eagle eyes of the Election Commission, political parties in Tamil Nadu have come up with innovative ways to attract voters, the latest being the 'mobile contact' system, in which they contact the electorate over cell phones.
One of the main accused, wanted in connection with planting of a pipe bomb allegedly targeting senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani in Tamil Nadu in 2011, was on Monday arrested at Batalagundu in this district, the police said.
Will the EC would make an example of the RK Nagar by-election, either by ensuring free and fair polls or by countermanding the same, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.