GEORGE TOWN – Police have picked up six suspects to aid in the investigations into the brutal attack on Datuk M. Ramachandran, chief executive of Penang Hindu Endowment Board, which occurred on Friday night.
The assailants, who used parangs, had left the 70-year-old with grave slash wounds and cuts on several parts of his body.
Police swooped in on the six at Bukit Mertajam while Ramachandran was undergoing emergency surgery at Gleneagles Hospital here yesterday.
He had been transferred from Seberang Jaya Hospital for a series of surgeries to stitch up the wounds he had sustained in the attack.
He is reportedly in a stable condition after the surgeries last night.
The motive behind the attack, where four assailants armed with parangs had ambused the former unionist outside his home in Alma, remains unclear. It is learnt that police have not ruled out it is related to dealings conducted by the board.
It is learnt that police began picking up suspects after a list of possible perpetrators were submitted to the police by board officials.
The attack on Friday night occurred in front of his neighbours and own family, including his granddaughter.
Along with new aid initiatives for the community, the board has taken control over a few temples by legal means since a new state government took power in 2008.
While it professes to have noble intentions, some quarters are said to be unhappy because they may end up losing control in the administration of their temples.
The board oversees the administration of temples, burial grounds, and religious needs of the community, and has also overseen support to benefit Tamil vernacular schools.
Meanwhile, lawyer RSN Rayer urged the police to reclassify the case as attempted murder under Section 307 of the Penal Code, instead of investigating it under Section 335, which relates to causing serious hurt.
“Based on photographic evidence, it is clear that the assailants were out to murder someone. I hope the police will hasten investigations,” the Jelutong MP said.
Rayer said that he has volunteered to hold a watching brief on behalf of Ramachandran if the suspects are prosecuted in court.
Lawyer S. Raveentharan described the attack as an assault on the board, whose members are senior executives in the Penang government.
He said this shows there are quarters trying to intimidate the state government.
“I hope the authorities understand the gravity of this case. Police must deploy all their resources including their intelligence apparatus to nab those behind this,” he said. – The Vibes, July 25, 2021
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