A former BJP functionary, Saranya (35), was brutally murdered on May 5 in Tamil Nadu's Thanjavur district. Her husband Balan, her stepson, Kabilan, and a third individual, Gugan, have been accused of the crime. Both Kabilan and Gugan have surrendered, while Vattathikkottai police are still on the lookout for Balan, reports add.
Saranya and Balan had reportedly moved to Pattukottai town eight months ago. They had been running a photocopying shop and a travel agency in Udhayasuriyapuram. The couple had previously had a dispute regarding property Balan had bought in Kabilan’s name, News 18 Tamil reported.
Angered, Balan arranged for Kabilan to murder Saranya. News 18 Tamil further reports that Balan had instructed his son to attack Saranya after she had closed the shop for the day and was on her way home. Saranya was attacked with sharp weapons and her decapitated body was discovered later.
Reports also say that Kabilan and Gugan attempted to surrender at the Madurai High Court, but the court notified the nearby Anna Nagar police station, pointing out that the crime had been committed in Thanjavur district. Both Saranya and Balan had reportedly been functionaries in the BJP while living in Madurai, before leaving the party and moving to Pattukottai. Saranya had been a part of the BJP’s women’s wing.
TOI also reports that Saranya had been among the BJP cadres who had hurled a slipper at State IT and Digital Services Minister Palanivel Thiagarajan in 2022. PTR, who had been serving as the State Finance Minister at the time, had been returning from the wreath-laying ceremony of an army jawan killed in Jammu & Kashmir. Reports said at the time that BJP cadres had been angered that police had not allowed them to participate in the ceremony as it had been a government event and only office holders had been permitted to attend.