Nagercoil custodial death revives memories of the 1996 prison killing that shook Tamil Nadu
The recent murder of a prisoner named S. Sabari Varman inside the Nagercoil jail has sent shockwaves across Tamil Nadu. For people of a certain
The recent murder of a prisoner named S. Sabari Varman inside the Nagercoil jail has sent shockwaves across Tamil Nadu. For people of a certain vintage in the area, though, this killing has revived memories of another horrific murder that took place inside the exact same prison back in 1996. During the 1980s, a man from the Kanyakumari district, who excelled as a kabaddi player, later became implicated in several murder cases and was imprisoned. While he was lodged in the Nagercoil District Sub-Jail, a gang of over 30 people broke into the prison from the outside and murdered him. He was decapitated, and his head was dumped at the Meenachipuram bus stand, located a few kilometres away. A news report published in The Hindu on April 10, 1996, describes what transpired during this gruesome incident. The inmate, identified as Lingam, had been lodged in the Nagercoil Sub-Jail since 1995 in connection with three murder cases and an assault on a police constable. What happened on April 9, 1996? On the morning of April 9, 1996, at around 3.00 a.m., a gang arrived in a van near the perimeter of the Nagercoil Sub-Jail. Using a ladder, the gang members scaled the prison’s 15-foot outer wall and jumped inside. Mr. Ponnambalam, a prison warden on duty, was brutally assaulted. The intruders smashed the glass box where the prison keys were kept, seized them, and rushed toward the cells. The prison was severely understaffed; it had a total strength of only eight personnel, including the prison superintendent, and only two guards were on duty when the attack occurred.
The other guard on duty, Sudalai, was also severely beaten. At the time, 84 inmates, including eight women, were housed in the facility. The invading gang consisted of 36 members. Seven of them carried country-made guns and a.315 rifle, while the others were armed with knives and sickles. After cutting the telephone lines, they reached Cell Number 8, where Lingam and eight other inmates were locked up. Flashing torches to identify Lingam, the attackers decapitated him inside the cell. Four other inmates were stabbed during the commotion; one of them, Babu Suresh, later succumbed to his injuries. Before leaving, the gang fired shots into the air using the rifle, scaled the wall using the same ladder, and fled with Lingam’s head. The entire operation was carried out in less than 20 minutes. Although the gang carefully carried the ladder back with them, they left behind a pistol, a cartridge, and a knife at the scene. Lingam’s head was later recovered near the Anna Bus Stand in Meenachipuram (The Hindu, April 10, 1996). As the incident shook the entire town, Prison Superintendent Mr. Joseph Gunamani, along with wardens Mr. Ponnambalam and Mr. Sudalai, were placed under suspension. Previous enmity The investigation revealed the motive behind the crime. A long-standing enmity existed between the deceased, Muthulingam alias Lingam, and a man named Gunaseelan from Agastheeswaram. Both factions had been executing retaliatory killings. When Lingam was remanded to the Nagercoil Sub-Jail in 1996 for a murder case, Gunaseelan’s faction decided to eliminate him inside the prison itself. The prosecution stated in court that Gunaseelan and another associate named Mohan were the ones who actually decapitated Lingam.
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