Thiruvananthapuram: After arresting three accused, the Tamil Nadu police are searching for 12 more individuals, including two Roman Catholic priests, in connection with the murder of Xavier Kumar in Mayilodu, Kanyakumari district. Xavier Kumar (45), a mechanic staff member at the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) and also a Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) member, was murdered on January 21 at Rev. Robinson’s official house.
According to police reports, Xavier Kumar served as the treasurer of the church parish, and a financial dispute emerged between him and the pastor and his team regarding the management of church funds. Both parties had filed complaints with the Iraniyal police station. The conflict escalated as Xavier Kumar, a vocal critic of the rival group managing the parish, sought details of the church’s accounts and made public comments on social media.
Jemini, the wife of Xavier Kumar, worked as a teacher in Mother Teresa Matriculation Higher Secondary School in the area, administered by Mayilodu parish. When her husband made social media posts about ‘irregularities’ in the parish, the school administration suspended her. Later, in an attempt to address the issue, Jemini and her relatives visited Pastor Robinson’s house for discussions.
On January 21st, when she apologized to school correspondent Rev. Fr. Robinson, who was also the Mayilodu parish priest, the priest and some parish council members insisted on her husband apologizing for his social media posts. Xavier Kumar went to the official residence of Rev. Fr. Robinson, where some parish council members were waiting for him on Saturday evening. There, he was assaulted and died on the spot.
Based on Ms. Jemini’s complaint, Eraniel police registered a murder case against Rev. Fr. Robinson and 14 others, including parish council office-bearers Ramesh Babu, an advocate and DMK member, Justus, Suresh, Edwin Jose, Soris, Ajay, Alwin, Derick, Vincent, Vino, and Murasancode parish priest Rev. Fr. Benitto. Five special teams were formed to apprehend them.
When the police attempted to send the body for post-mortem, the family, relatives of Xavier Kumar, and NTK cadre resisted it, demanding the arrest of all the accused, a compensation of ₹1 crore each to his two daughters, and the appointment of Ms. Jemini to a government-approved teaching position in a school administered by the Kuzhithurai Diocese. They also demanded that Xavier Kumar’s body be buried on the premises of Mayilodu church.
The body could only be taken to Asaripallam Government Medical College Hospital at 1:45 a.m. on Sunday after the protesters were appeased. “According to the post-mortem report, some of the ribs of Xavier Kumar have been broken in the attack. Injuries were seen in the chest. Around 1 liter of blood had oozed out due to internal hemorrhage. So, the death has occurred due to the attack,” said a police officer.
Following the incident that sparked turmoil in the region, the police arrested Vincent and Justus and remanded them in judicial custody.
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