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An elderly man dressed in a white shirt and veshti can be seen pacing across a road in Dindigul district's Palani town. The man shows no anger or distress in the CCTV visuals retrieved from the area on Monday afternoon. But seconds after, he is seen marching forward purposefully, his hand outstretched and with a gun pointed ahead. He aims the gun at three men standing on the side of the road. He then shoots two rounds of bullets, one on the hip of a man clad in an orange veshti and another elderly man dressed in a white veshti, who collapses. Soon after, another man from across the road can be seen flinging a log at the shooter, who then walks away.
The shooter seen in the footage is 80-year-old Natarajan and the victims of the shooting are Subramani and Palanisamy, who all belong to Dindigul district. This shocking incident took place at 10.30 am on Monday, in broad daylight in Palani's Appar Street.
According to police sources, the shooting was a result of a land dispute between Natarajan, who is a businessman, and a farmer named Ilangovan. The latter owned 12 cents of land in Appar Street but Natarajan, who lives close to this property, allegedly claimed that a portion of the land belongs to him. While this dispute was underway, Ilangovan made a move to fence the land. When Natarajan objected, Ilangovan's relatives Subramani and Palanisamy attempted to negotiate with Natarajan. Angered by their discussions, Natarajan pulled out his gun. Ilangovan escaped from the spot but Subramani was shot in the stomach and Palanisamy on the hip.
Watch the video here:
"Subramani has been shifted to a Madurai hospital and Palaniswami has undergone surgery. They are both stable," an investigating officer tells TNM. "The cause for the shooting was a land dispute. Natarajan had a licensed gun and used this to shoot the victims. He has been arrested and an investigation is underway," he adds.