Sambu alias Sambasivam, a resident of Pilliarkuppam, was a complainant cum witness in a murder case that occurred in Cuddalore last year, police said

A 33-year-old man was killed in a country bomb attack on Friday morning near Kirumampakkam Primary School. Shortly after the incident, the victim’s relatives and friends staged a road blockade, choking traffic for hours on the busy Puducherry-Cuddalore road.

Sambu alias Sambasivam, a resident of Pilliarkuppam, was travelling in his car to invite a relative for his sister’s wedding slated to be held next week, when assailants hurled country bombs at the vehicle. The victim was a staunch supporter of Minister for Social Welfare M. Kandasamy.

After hurling the bomb, the gang, who had arrived on three motorcycles, attacked the victim with lethal weapons as he tried to escape from the car, killing him on the spot. Children who were on their way to school panicked and started screaming. Some parents who rushed to the school took their children back home, fearing violence, police said quoting eye witnesses.

Tension prevailed near the school premises after relatives refused to take Sambasivam’s body in an ambulance to the Indira Gandhi Government General Hospital for further procedures.

Though they finally allowed police to shift the body, relatives and friends of the victim staged a protest at Kirumampakkam junction throwing traffic out of gear for almost an hour. Vehicular movement came to a standstill for hours on the busy stretch. They with drew the protest only after a team headed by Senior Superintendent of Police (Crime and Intelligence) Akanksha Yadav promised to nab the culprits.

A team headed by Superintendent of Police, South, Jintha Kothandaraman has been constituted to investigate the case, Senior Superintendent of Police, Law and Order Rahul told The Hindu.

According to a police source, the deceased was a complainant cum witness in a murder case that occurred in Cuddalore last year. “We are investigating whether the murder is a fallout of the incident in Tamil Nadu. The hearing of the case is on,” said a member of the investigating team.