Tamil Nadu: Naam Tamilar Party's senior leader Balasubramanian hacked to death; Home Secretary transferred

This comes after K Armstrong, the BSP state unit chief, was hacked to death earlier this month by some bike-borne assailants.

Chennai: A functionary of Naam Tamizhar Katchi, who is also an history sheeter, was on Tuesday hacked to death by unidentified persons in the heart of Madurai while he was on his morning walk. C Balamurugan, known as ‘Punk’ Bala, is an office bearer of the Tamil nationalist outfit’s Madurai district unit.

The broad daylight murder comes just ten days after Tamil Nadu BSP chief K Armstrong was killed by a six-member gang in Perambur in Chennai on July 5 near his residence, exposing the deteriorating law and order condition in the state.

Bala, 50, was waylaid and attacked with lethal weapons while he was on his routine morning walk on Vallabai Road in Chokkikulam locality in Madurai, just a few hundred metres from the Tallakulam police station.

“Prima facie, it appears, family dispute is the reason for Bala’s murder. He had three murder cases against him. We are investigating the case and we can say that there is no political motive,” a senior police officer told DH.

The deceased tried to overpower his assailants but was killed instantly, police said, adding that the gang fled the spot on their two-wheelers. Since the deceased was also involved in money lending business, police said they are probing whether any financial dispute was behind his murder.

NTK chief S Seeman condemned the killing of his colleague and demanded that the government ensure that the culprits are arrested immediately.

Armstrong was killed on July 5 following which police arrested eight people, out of which one accused, Thiruvengadam, was killed in an police encounter on July 14 as he allegedly tried to escape while he was being taken to his house to identify the weapons used in the murder.

Armstrong’s death prompted the state government to shunt out Chennai city police commissioner Sandeep Rai Rathore and replace him with A Arun. Since then, the Chennai police have arrested over 70 history sheeters in the city as part of a major crackdown on rowdies.

The state's Home Secretary P Amudha was transferred on Tuesday to the post of Secretary, Revenue and Disaster Management Department.

This comes on the heels of the Kallakurichi hooch tragedy and the murder of K Armstrong.