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DMDK functionary commits suicide over Mullaperiyar dam row
Cuddalore, December 22, 2011
The ongoing Mullaperiyar Dam row between Tamil Nadu and Kerala claimed its first casualty with a functionary of actor-politician Vijayakanth's DMDK, committing suicide by consuming poison at Vridhachalam in this district of Tamil Nadu late last night.
Police said the functionary was identified as T Sekar, who was the platform speaker of the party.
He was hailed as "Idi Muzhakkam" Sekar for his fiery speeches.
A native of Seelayanpatti village in the southern Theni district, he chose to end his life in Vridhachalam as it was the place which gave recognition to the party and Vijayakanth, who was first elected to the state Assembly in the 2006 Assembly polls.
He had come to Vridhachalam on December 20 and had asked the DMDK Municipal Secretary Sankar to arrange accommodation. After visiting some temples, he consumed poison at the lodge where he was staying.
DMDK workers rushed him to the Cuddalore Government Hospital, where he was declared dead.
Sekar had left behind a suicide note in which he condemned Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy for being hell bent on demolishing the Mullaperiyar dam on the ground that it was weak and construct a new dam.
In the letter addressed to "Captain", as Vijayakanth is called by his partymen, Sekar said if the Kerala government demolished the dam, farmers in five districts, which are dependent on the dam for irrigation, would be forced to end their lives.
"I am ending my life in a bid to save the dam," he said in the letter, adding, "I am confident that Captain will definitely prevent the dam from being demolished by Kerala."
He said he had taken the extreme step on his own and no one was responsible for it. Sekar had also urged the partymen to donate his clothes, which he had brought from Theni, to a home for the mentally-retarded.
Hearing the news, DMDK legislators and workers thronged the hospital. They received the body after autopsy and staged a protest demonstration with Sekar's body condemning the Kerala Chief Minister's adamant attitude to demolish the dam. They also shouted slogans denouncing Kerala on the issue.
After the demonstration, the body was taken to his native Theni district.
NNN
