Follow TNM’s WhatsApp channel for news updates and story links.
Nearly a year after the horrific murder of disability rights activist and lawyer L Muruganantham, the key eyewitness, Thangavel, was brutally attacked on July 7 near Dharapuram in Tiruppur district. Notably, the murder trial is expected to commence soon. Thangavel is also the de facto complainant in the case.
According to advocate Shankar, Muruganantham’s friend, Thangavel was attacked by unidentified assailants around 6 am near Ganathipalayam while he was on his way to buy milk. He sustained grievous injuries to his head, neck and hands and was admitted to a private hospital in Coimbatore, where he is undergoing treatment.
When TNM contacted Dharapuram Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) L Sivakumar, he said, “We are currently investigating this case” and declined to comment further.
People's Watch executive director Henri Tiphagne said, “They have attacked a person who was already under witness protection granted by the court. It was a brutal attack. He has been attacked precisely when the trial is about to commence. It suggests that those behind the attack believe they can take the law into their own hands.”
Shankar alleged to TNM that although the court had ordered witness protection, no police personnel were with Thangavel when he was attacked.
“This does not appear to be a random assault. We suspect it was carefully planned,” he said. He added that a complaint has been filed at the Dharapuram police station, but the FIR is yet to be registered.
Muruganantham’s murder
Muruganantham, a Madras High Court lawyer and disability rights activist, was hacked to death in Dharapuram in July 2025. Police alleged that he was murdered over a long-standing property dispute involving his paternal uncle, L Dhandapani.
Before his murder, Muruganantham had moved the Madras High Court against alleged unauthorised construction, safety violations and encroachment at the Thenmalar Matriculation Higher Secondary School that Dhandapani owned.
Police alleged that he was lured to the site on the pretext of a land survey before being ambushed and hacked to death.
Shankar told TNM that the murder trial has been transferred to the Dharmapuri court and is expected to begin soon. According to him, 20 people have been arrested in the murder case so far, while two have been released on bail. The prosecution has listed 133 witnesses.
He added that police protection is currently being provided to Muruganantham’s mother, Sumithra Devi, his uncle and another eyewitness, Gurusamy, and one more person connected to the case.
“The witnesses continue to live in fear. Even though the accused have been in prison for nearly a year, this attack has still taken place. Changing governments alone will not improve the situation. The police must effectively implement the witness protection measures that already exist,” he said.
“With 133 witnesses to be examined, it is impossible to keep every witness under protection all the time. They cannot spend their lives carrying weapons or remaining confined inside their homes. The only lasting solution is to conduct a speedy trial and ensure those responsible are punished,” he added.
Police arrested Dhandapani, his son Karthik and several others in connection with Muruganantham’s murder in 2025. Karthik was arrested after returning from Malaysia, where police alleged he had fled after arranging payments to the contract killers.
Three, including Dhandapani, have been booked under the Tamil Nadu Prevention of Dangerous Activities Act, 1982 (commonly known as the Goondas Act). All of them are currently lodged in the Coimbatore Central Prison.