Mystery surrounds death of community Robin Hood

Pannaiyar was supporter of ruling party

Police action in which one Venkatesa Pannaiyar was killed in Chennai on September 28 is creating waves in some of the southern districts of Tamil Nadu like Tuticorin and Tinnevelly.

He was considered a Robin Hood of the Nadar community which has strong roots in those districts and in Chennai. He is supposed to have been a major supporter of the ruling party. The mystery is why he was shot dead by the police.

The day after the incident in Chennai shops downed shutters in several towns in the districts where the Nadar community has deep roots. Last week the Nellai Tuticorin Nadar Mahamai Paripalana Sangam petitioned President Abdul Kalam who had come to the city to institute a CBI inquiry into the alleged encounter death.

The petition alleged that the Nadar community were being threatened by gangsters who demanded bribes and that Pannaiyar's father and grandfather had also been killed by them.

The petition mentioned that the victim's family had done great philanthropic work. The petition alleged that the police had fabricated a false case and shot Venkatesan dead.

Police, however, say Venketesan was a criminal. He had had ties with two other recently killed criminals, Asai Thambi and Kabilan.