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AIADMK functionary’s murder sparks political row

A 35-year-old AIADMK functionary was found murdered and beheaded by unidentified individuals near Thiruparankundram in Madurai district allegedly over a family dispute

Published on: Feb 07, 2026 3:28 AM IST
By , Chennai
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A 35-year-old AIADMK functionary was found murdered and beheaded by unidentified individuals near Thiruparankundram in Madurai district allegedly over a family dispute on Friday, triggering a political slugfest in the poll bound Tamil Nadu.

AIADMK functionary’s murder sparks political row
AIADMK functionary’s murder sparks political row

“The victim has been identified as Dhanasekara Pandian alias Senthil Kumar, the district head of the AIADMK youth in the Samanatham village,” said a police officer in Madurai. “He runs a tea shop in the Samanatham area and when he went to open it around 6 in the morning, four suspects murdered him,” police said.

Confirming the development, opposition leader and the party’s general secretary Edappadi Palaniswami (EPS) condemned the ruling MK Stalin-led government and demanded swift justice for the victim.

“I keep saying it time and again-in this DMK regime, criminals do not fear before committing any crime. Where does the audacity come from for criminals to commit such barbaric acts as beheading and murdering someone?” he said. “And I urge the Stalin’s DMK government to take the strictest legal action against all those connected to the case of Senthil’s brutal murder,” EPS said. “Let me say it once more—if the people of Tamil Nadu are to live in safety, the first step towards that is to utterly topple this benighted DMK regime.”

A DMK leader said: “The incident is unfortunate and police are investigating it and will arrest the suspects soon.”

“Law enforcement will bring justice to whoever the victim is.”

  • Divya Chandrababu
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Divya Chandrababu

    Divya Chandrababu is an award-winning political and human rights journalist based in Chennai, India. Divya is presently Assistant Editor of the Hindustan Times where she covers Tamil Nadu & Puducherry. She started her career as a broadcast journalist at NDTV-Hindu where she anchored and wrote prime time news bulletins. Later, she covered politics, development, mental health, child and disability rights for The Times of India. Divya has been a journalism fellow for several programs including the Asia Journalism Fellowship at Singapore and the KAS Media Asia- The Caravan for narrative journalism. Divya has a master's in politics and international studies from the University of Warwick, UK. As an independent journalist Divya has written for Indian and foreign publications on domestic and international affairs.Read More

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