According to a report by Swarajya, A fundraiser set up to contribute to the family of the slain activist Ramalingam has received donations of over Rs 24 lakh in just three days. There is speculation that Ramalingam was murdered by radical Islamists as he fought against their attempts to religiously convert residents of a Hindu Dalit neighborhood. Tweeting about the incident, BJP Tamil Nadu president Tamilisai Soundararajan said, “Ramalingam was killed the next day he prevented religious conversion. The culprits should be punished.”
Earlier, it was reported that Ramalingam, a member of the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) party, had been brutally murdered by a group of unidentified men. His hands were chopped off with billhooks. He died due to excessive bleeding on the way to a hospital.
Based on a complaint from his son, the Tiruvidaimarudur police registered a case of murder and launched an investigation. Meanwhile, a video of him arguing with the men at Packiyanathan Thoppu went viral. In the video, he is also seen smearing holy ash (Vibhuti) on the forehead of one of the men and taking his skull cap and wearing it himself.
Further, police officials claimed that those men were from Popular Front of India (PFI) and were there to preach the Islamic ideology of “peace and harmony”. Not to forget that, in various probes it has come out that activists of a radical Islamist organization are working for the ISIS. This group has links in communal clashes, love-Jihad, ISIS, forced conversions, etc. A Times Now investigation suggested that some of the organizations funding radical Islamists, PFI, have also been linked to the global terrorist organization, the Al-Qaeda.
According to the Goa Chronicle’s report, the police suspect that the Muslim men with whom Ramalingam had arguments could have killed him in an act of revenge. An FIR under the section 302 (Murder) of the IPC has been registered. According to Swarajya report, a total of eight people have been arrested in connection with the murder. They have been identified as S Nijam Ali, Sarbudeen, Rizwan, Mohamed Azarudeen and Mohamed Raiyaz, Mohammed Toufiq, Mohammed Parvez and Touhid Basha.
The Daily Pioneer has quoted a local resident saying, “Within hours of the argument, a group of people barged into the residence of Ramalingam and attacked him with knives and swords. They chopped one of his hands and a leg.” Dr S Ramadoss, leader of the PMK, condemned the gruesome act and asked the Tamil Nadu Government to arrest the culprits behind the gruesome crime.
Moreover, Ramalingam was the only job holder of the family and in order to support the family behind him, a fundraiser was sought out. The fund raiser was estimated to have collected 10 lakh rupees immediately, but in a short duration of 72 hours, a sum of 24.37 lakh has been collected and further revised to collect 30 lakh rupees.
Also Read: Ramalingam’s wasn’t a political murder
Common people have hit the streets and are demanding justice for Ramalingam. However, there is no outrage from the media’s side, there is no news debate, and no award wapsi condemned this brutal and barbaric act of the killing of an innocent man. There is no doubt that Ramalingam was a brave & strong person who took a stand against conversion and the fundraiser will help his family in such difficult times.