DMK stages walkout from House after row over 19-year-old’s murder

Leader of Opposition in the Tamil Nadu assembly Udhayanidhi Stalin on Monday led the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in a walkout after an intense exchange with the state government on the alleged lynching of a 19-year-old engineering student in Coimbatore on August 10.

The matter arose soon after the House convened for the day, after Stalin moved a special motion to discuss the issue. He claimed that numerous murders had rocked the state in the last week alone. “In Coimbatore, 19-year-old Amudhan was brutally killed. It’s not a gang war, it’s a murder. He belongs to the SC community,” Stalin said.

He alleged that Amudhan was killed after providing information about drug-related activities and said that his parents had also raised the same allegation. “The drugs should have been seized. The main reason behind Amudhan’s death is due to drugs. Their parents spoke to me; they said Amudhan was killed because he gave a tip-off about the drug menace,” he said.

Stalin alleged state negligence on law and order and demanded action against Amudhan’s killers.

Responding to the LoP, state law minister R Nirmal Kumar said the incident led to two separate police cases being registered. “Following the death of Amudhan, provisions under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act were added to the case.” he said.

State social justice and backward classes’ welfare ministers Vanni Arasu and V Sampath Kumar met the victim’s family on August 16. “Orders have also been issued to provide initial relief of ₹ 6 lakh to the family,” said Nirmal Kumar. He also reiterated the claim that incident arose out of a gang war and was not related to the drug trade.

“In this case, without any delay, the police registered cases and swiftly arrested the culprits,” he said, adding that chief minister C Joseph Vijay ordered that the charge sheet be filed within 3 months and progress be monitored regularly.