A political activist belonging to the Pattali Makkal Katchi was murdered, on Tuesday night in Kumbakonam in Thanjavur district, allegedly by members of a minority community for opposing religious conversion.

Ramalingam (File photo) More

Quoting a police officer at the Thiruvidaimarudhur police station, news website The News Minute said that 42-year-old Ramalingam was murdered for having opposed religious conversions in the area. The cop, according to TNM, said that members of the minority community visit localities that are minority-dominated and preach about their religion. Generally, these people restrict themselves to the minority-dominated areas, but on Tuesday, the group that came to preach had allegedly visited a street which had a large number of residents belonging to the Dalit community.

The cop added, says the TNM report, that “Ramalingam had gone to pick up a few men who were working for him, in his catering business. When he saw the minority community group speaking about religion there, he raised questions and as those men retaliated. An altercation ensued. The issue was also sorted out by the clerics in the afternoon. However, it seems that the men still harboured ill-feelings towards Ramalingam.”

A video has also surfaced on the Internet, and is going viral, in which Ramalingam is seen arguing with preachers, telling them not to indulge in conversions. “Hindus are not anti-anybody. We worship our God, you worship yours.”

PMK Kumbakonam Office Bearer Ramalingam who opposed Muslim conversion in a Dalit colony has been murdered. Looks like radical outfit Popular Front of India is behind the murder. Media, Journos, Liberals & loudmouths who howl for every single thing *silent*? #JusticeForRamalingam pic.twitter.com/9E0xOcMplG — SG Suryah (@SuryahSG) February 6, 2019

“I’m ready to come to the mosque and get involved in prayer. Will you accept a Hindu god? Will you eat the food offered to a Hindu God? We are ready to live together, but you are dividing the people”, he said.

Ramailingam also took the cap from one of the preachers and put it on his head. He also applied ‘vibhuti’ on that preacher’s forehead to symbolize religious harmony. However his gesture was didn’t go down well with clerics, according to police sources, and his hands were chopped off, as a retribution for his act of applying ‘vibhuti’ on the preacher’s head.

Following the incident, a large police force has been deployed in the Kumbakonam area to avoid communal conflagration. Police have lodged an FIR under section 302 of the IPC and have started the process of nabbing the killers.