Morning walks are turning dangerous, particularly for those who lived dangerously. Despite their political clout, these people seemed to be sitting ducks for hired killers.
Realtor K.N. Ramajayam, brother of former DMK minister K.N. Nehru, was the fourth victim after M.K. Balan, Tha Krittinan and Aladi Aruna. All the four belonged to DMK and in couple of cases, the suspects also belonged to the party.
Ramajayam, fearing arrest in a landgrab case, tried to flee to Dubai, when he was detained at Kochi airport in September. He was arrested and later released on bail.
Balan, who joined DMK after serving as AIADMK MLA, was the first victim. He stepped out of his house in Mylapore for a morning walk on December 30, 2001, when he was kidnapped.
His whereabouts remained a mystery for months, before police discovered that the gang had burnt his body and immersed the ashes in the sea.
Then came the killing of Tha Kiruttinan, the former DMK minister. He was hacked to death while on a morning walk in Madurai in May 2003. It was believed to be a fallout of the power struggle between him and DMK leader M.K. Alagiri.
A year later, former DMK minister Aladi Aruna was hacked to death along with his friend at Alankulam, Tirunelveli, in December 2004.
In Balan’s case, a fast-track court sentenced 16 people to life imprisonment, while a Chittoor court acquitted all 12 accused, including M.K. Alagiri, in the Kiruttinan murder case.
In the Aruna case, the main accused, S.A. Raja, an educationist, was acquitted by the Supreme Court.