A tragic incident shocked Tamil Nadu as BJP woman leader B Saranya, aged 38, was brutally beheaded near Thanjavur on Monday night. The armed attack happened while she was walking home after closing her photocopy shop in Udayasuriyapuram village.
Police identified the murder as a result of a family conflict, dismissing any political motive, even though Saranya was previously in the news for throwing footwear at Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan’s vehicle during an event in Madurai in 2022.
According to SP R Rajaram, the attack had “no connection with politics” and was due to a dispute over property inheritance. Saranya had objected to dividing her husband Balan’s assets with his son Kapilan from a previous marriage.
On Tuesday, three men — B Kapilan, Parthiban, and Gugan — surrendered in Madurai and confessed to the murder. Kapilan, Saranya’s stepson, reportedly planned the attack with the help of his friends. Police are now taking steps to bring the accused into custody from Madurai.
Saranya was a former BJP Mahila Morcha secretary in Madurai and had married Balan in 2023, after the death of her first husband. The couple ran a photocopy and travel agency in the village.
The attack occurred around 9 PM on Monday. After Saranya didn’t return home, her family searched the area and discovered her body near their home. Police later sent the body for autopsy at Pattukottai General Hospital.
Reacting to the incident, BJP Mahila Morcha president and Coimbatore South MLA Vanathi Srinivasan expressed deep concern over rising crimes against women in Tamil Nadu. She criticized the state government on X (formerly Twitter), questioning the law and order situation and asking what happened to the CM’s promise of handling crimes with an “iron hand.”
