Two Party Figures Slain in Separate Knife Attacks Across Tamil Nadu

A 39-year-old Bharatiya Janata Party worker, R. Balakrishnan, was hacked to death early Friday near Sanarpatti in Tamil Nadu’s Dindigul district. Police said an unidentified gang attacked him with sharp weapons and fled. Investigators are examining whether a financial dispute or personal vendetta triggered the assault, and have formed special teams to trace the assailants. In a separate incident the same day, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi councillor Gomathi was fatally stabbed by her husband, Stephen Raj, in Thiruninravur, Avadi district. According to officers, the attack followed an argument over an alleged extramarital affair. Raj surrendered at a local police station and is in custody pending further inquiry. The back-to-back killings of politicians from rival parties have renewed scrutiny of public safety in Tamil Nadu as the state heads toward legislative elections in 2026. Police officials said both cases are being treated as individual crimes with no apparent political linkage, but acknowledged stepped-up patrols and additional investigative resources in response to the incidents.