Engineer jumps off building to end life

Engineer jumps off building to end life

A 27-year-old Chennai engineer jumped to his death from the third floor of the busy Express Avenue shopping mall last week at Anna Salai. Despite severe head injuries Shamugham was reportedly alive after the fall. However, the mall’s management delayed taking him to hospital and this led to his death, eyewitnesses claimed. Police believe Shamugham ended his life over unrequited love.In yet another incident, Illavarasan, a Dalit youth whose November 2012 marriage to a ‘higher caste’ girl, Divya, triggered communal clashes in Dharmapuri district committed suicide by jumping in front of a train. Divya’s father had ended his life after the couple eloped. However, a fortnight ago, Divya was forced to return after a court order filed by her mother. Police suspect Illavarasan committed suicide when Divya publicly nullified her marriage.Hindu leader murdered

The state secretary of the Hindu Munnani party, Vellaiyan, was murdered by a gang of armed men at Vellore about 150kms from Chennai last week. The Hindu Munnani party is a religious and cultural organisation founded in 1982. Vellaiyan, a 48-year-old bachelor from southern Tirunelveli district, was attacked at 3am as he returned home from attending a meeting. His death triggered a protest with as supporters refusing to let the police take his body for post mortem. They also stoned buses and shouted slogans.New chief justice of Supreme Court  

In a record of sorts, Justice P Sathasivam  has become the first person from Tamil Nadu to be appointed the 40th chief justice of the Supreme Court. Sathasivam, 64, will take oath on July 19 in New Delhi. Sathasivam was born into an agricultural family in Kandampannalur village in Erode district. He was the first to graduate from his family and began practicing in 1973. His tenure covered practice at the Madras High Court and the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayaram Jayalalithaa and other leaders congratulated Sathasivam.Rs63mn stolen from train

 The manager of a private-owned travel firm, lost Rs63mn of company cash on the Chennai-Tirunelveli express last week. Prem Naseer told police he had strapped the bag under his seat but found it missing at Chengalpet about 70kms from Chennai. His wife and child were with him when the theft occurred. Police have begun investigations and are also checking Naseer’s involvement.Two men assaulted

Two people were assaulted in separate incidents last week in Salem. Prominent hotelier and realtor G Subramani, 39, was waylaid and beaten by a gang on June 28. Subramani survived the attack and was able to identify the gang leader. Police traced the gang to a neighbouring town and were shocked when the gang leader claimed that Subramani’s brother Karthikeyan had ordered the killing. Later Karthikeyan confessed that he had wanted to kill his brother and become the sole owner of the Rs3bn business. In a second incident, leading criminal lawyer K M Jayapal managed to escape his kidnappers after he went missing near his home on July 1. Jayapal, whose family had alerted police, reportedly called up from Erode claiming he was on a bus home. Police suspect that Jayapal was kidnapped by some financiers, who had lend money to his son for a cattle trading business. Investigations are on in both cases.