The Principal District Judge of Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu sentenced two illegal sand miners to life imprisonment in the case linked to the murder of the Village Administrative Officer (VAO) of Murappanaadu on Friday, September 15. Y Lourdu Francis (56) was killed on April 25 this year after he acted against Ramasubramanian (33) and Marimuthu (35), who were involved in illegal sand quarrying. The shocking incident happened in broad daylight in the VAO office, located just 100 metres away from the police station.
According to the reports, the judge also imposed a fine of Rs 3,000 each on the convicted persons, Ramasubramanian, who hailed in Kaliyaavoor near Murappanaadu, and his accomplice Marimuthu.
Earlier this year, on April 13, Lourdu lodged a complaint against Ramasubramanian for illegally mining sand from the Thamirabarani river bed. According to the First Information Report (FIR) dated April 13, Lourdu and his colleague Ganesan inspected the area early in the morning of April 13 after the VAO office received complaints regarding illegal sand mining. The duo went to Kaliyavoor, where they found a resident named Ramasubramanian loading sand into a van along with two other men. When Ramasubramanian and his aides saw the VAO personnel, they fled the spot in the van. Lourdu later filed a complaint.
On April 25, Ramasubramanian barged into the Murappanadu VAO office with another man and attacked Lourdu to death with machetes before fleeing the spot. Injured badly, Lourdu was rushed to the Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital, where he failed to respond to treatment and died. It created an uproar among the revenue officials and VAO officials. Police arrested the culprits and booked them under the Goondas Act after investigation.
Following the murder of Lourdu, taluk-level task forces have been set up in Thoothukudi district. The task force consists of officials from revenue, police, public works and rural development departments to check illegal sand quarrying.