After two years, party cadres allowed to enter Vengaivayal for funeral; media still barred

Gandarvakottai MLA M Chinnadurai, on Friday paid their last respects to Karuppayi (84), the grandmother of J Muraliraja, one of the accused in the case of mixing faecal matter in an overhead tank serving Dalit households.

- PEARSON LENEKAR SR @Pudukkottai

Gandarvakottai MLA M Chinnadurai, on Friday paid their last respects to Karuppayi (84), the grandmother of J Muraliraja, one of the accused in the case of mixing faecal matter in an overhead tank serving Dalit households. On Thursday, tensions escalated in the village as residents staged a protest with Karuppayi's body, demanding that relatives and supporters be allowed to participate in the funeral.

For the first time in two years, members of political parties were allowed entry to Vengaivayal, the village in Pudukkottai district that has been under police surveillance ever since the water contamination scandal in December 2022.

Hundreds of cadre from the VCK and the CPM, including