Pudukkottai (Tamil Nadu), Jan 20 (PTI) A social activist who has been waging a battle against illegal mining activities in Thirumayam in the district was done to death and four persons have been arrested in connection with the murder, police said on Monday.

The suspects, including a stone quarry owner, were arrested today and they were produced before a court which remanded them to judicial custody till February 3.

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The victim K Jagbar Ali, a resident of Vengalur in Thirumayam taluk, was a social activist, who was known for his staunch opposition to illegal mining activities.

Initially, police suspected it to be an accident but investigations later revealed that the incident was premeditated and carried out by some persons involved in the illegal stone quarrying.

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Police said Jagbar Ali was knocked down while returning home on his motorcycle after offering prayers at a mosque on January 17. He died instantly.

"Initially, a case of death due to accident was registered but subsequently it was altered to preplanned murder," a police official said.

He was said to have frequently filed complaints with the district authorities on violations, especially in extracting minerals beyond permitted limits, thus causing revenue loss to the government.

Tamil Nadu Law Minister S Regupathy said in a post on social media platform X that four persons including a lorry driver involved in the incident were arrested. He criticised AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami for faulting the government over the issue and said the arrest was made within a few hours of the occurrence of the crime.

Palaniswami demanded justice for the death of Jagbar Ali, an AIADMK functionary, by taking stern action on the perpetrators and end illegal mining activity.

Pudukkottai district unit of the CPI condemned the killing and sought an inquiry on the revenue and police officials over their alleged inaction for not acting on Ali's complaints.

CPI (M) district unit too condemned the killing and demanded stern action to halt illegal mining.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)