Chennai, DMK leader and Member of Parliament from Cuddalore Lok Sabha constituency, T.R.V.S. Ramesh, accused of murder of a worker of his cashew processing unit, has surrendered before the Judicial Magistrate Court 1 in Panruti, Cuddalore on Monday.

 

Ramesh was booked as the prime accused in the murder of the 60-year-old worker, K. Govindarasu on September 20, and the CB-CID which was investigating the case was on a massive hunt for him.

The CB-CID Police have already arrested five other accused in the case. All five are employees in the cashew processing unit.

According to the police, victim Govindarasu was working as a labourer in the cashew processing unit for the past seven years. He was frisked while returning from duty at the factory premises on the evening of September 19 and was charged with stealing 7 kg of cashew.

Police said that he was allegedly assaulted at the factory compound by five employees and Ramesh and later, taken to Kadampuliyur police station to lodge a formal complaint on the charges of stealing cashew.

However, the Station House Officer noticed injuries on the face of Govindarasu and directed the workers who had brought him to the station to take him to a hospital.

The co-workers, Kandavelu and Shanmugham who had brought him to the police station, did not take him to the hospital and instead to the factory again.

Govindarasu was found dead in the factory premises on September 20 and the Kadakampaliyur police registered a case under Section 174 (unnatural death) of the Criminal Procedure Code and initiated an inquiry.

Sakthivel, son of Govindarasu alleged that Ramesh and five other men assaulted his father and killed him. However, the accused said that he committed suicide.

The Madras High Court intervened in the case and directed the doctors from JIPMER, Puducherry to conduct an autopsy on September 23 and videotape the same.

The case was then transferred to the CB-CID from Cuddalore district police and the CB-CID arrested five men and sent a request to the Speaker of Parliament to arrest the MP.

Political parties across Tamil Nadu including AIADMK, BJP, and PMK were demanding the immediate arrest of Ramesh on charges of murder of his factory worker.