Chennai:
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa today constituted a Special Investigation Division under the Director General of Police (CB-CID) to investigate the killing of BJP state general secretary V Ramesh in Salem last Friday.
Terming the murder as "heinous," Ms Jayalalithaa said, "Violence and violent crimes, irrespective of whether they are politically motivated or otherwise, have no place in a civilized society and should be rooted out by stern and strong measures."
She asserted that anti-social elements or forces would not be allowed to vitiate the atmosphere in the state and resort to violence and murder, "either for personal or political gain, or to foment communal violence or extremism in any form."
In a statement, she said the Special Investigation Division would also take over the ongoing probe in the murder of Hindu Munnani State Secretary Vellaiyappan this July 1 at Vellore.
Defending the police force, she said a recent significant achievement was the arrest of an accused wanted in last year's 'pipe bomb' case at Thirumangalam in which the target was BJP leader LK Advani.
She expressed confidence that the guilty would be apprehended soon and dealt with as per law.
BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu welcomed the constitution of a special investigation division to probe the murder and urged the Chief Minister to take personal interest in the matter and take action against the culprits.
Listing the names of leaders from BJP and right-wing outfits in the state, who have been murdered or attacked, he said, "There seems to be a pattern in all these murders. This is a case of police failure."
"These incidents must be seen in the backdrop of Al Umma's activities in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. Organisations have been changing their name from time to time," he told reporters.