Tamil daily office ransacked, 3 killed

Madurai, May 9 (UNI) Three employees of a popular Tamil daily were killed and four others swooned when an irate mob, including loyalists of Mr M K Azhagiri, the Madurai-based son of Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, ransacked and set afire the newspaper office in the city today, protesting a report published by the daily based on a survey on the line of succession in the ruling DMK.

The victims were identified as Gopinath (24) of Keezhakarai in Ramanathapuram district, Vinodh Kumar (25), a local, both service engineers, and Muthuramalingam (40), a security person. The four who fell unconscious, including Gopi, a cameraman of the Sun TV, were admitted to a nearby hospital.

Following the violence in the city, Cable TV operators blacked out all the channels and the security was beefed up at the newspaper office premises.

The resident editor of the daily lodged a complaint with the police stating Azhagiri as the prime accused, under whose instigation violence was let loose and the daily office burnt.

Meanwhile, Azhagiri distanced himself from those who indulged in the violent act and claimed that they were not his supporters.

Later in the evening, Sun TV Managing Director Kalanidhi Maran visited the spot and termed the attack ''an onslaught on the freedom of the press.'' He paid floral tributes to the victims who did in the incident at the hospital and announced a solatium of Rs 15 lakh each to the bereaved families.

The Tamil Nadu Union of Journalists (TUJ) and the Chennai Press Club condemned the incident and demanded immediate arrest of the culprits, who were behind the brutal incident.

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