Life gone too soon: Friends remember dog lover R Thirumani who was killed by stone-pelters in J&K

A pall of gloom descended on Palavedu near Avadi, about 25 km from Chennai, on Tuesday after the death of R Thirumani who was killed in a stone pelting incident in Kashmir on Monday.

Friends, relatives and neighbours of the 24-year-old Thirumani are yet to recover from the shocking death of the unassuming and very calm youngster.

The victim’s body is expected to reach Chennai airport at 7.30 pm from Srinagar via New Delhi. Thirumani, who works as an analyst at a BPO, was the youngest child of Selvi and Rajavel, an employee of the Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment under DRDO at Avadi.

Accompanied by his colleague's families, Rajavel along with his wife Selvi, his daughter Sangeetha and Thirumani went on an eight-day trip to Jammu and Kashmir on May 4 to escape the sweltering heat of Chennai. Rajavel’s elder son Ravi Kumar stayed back at home.

On May 7, Thriumani along with his mother were hit by stones when their vehicle was caught in the stone pelting at Narbal area en route to the famous ski resort of Gulmarg. He was shifted to Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences where he succumbed. While his mother sustained minor injuries.

Thirumani’s friends and neighbours describe him as an unassuming and silent person.

“Mostly he cannot be spotted outside his home. The only time he can be seen in the street was when he takes out his two dogs in the evening,” R Gowri, a neighbour, told DNA. The family was living in the locality for over two decades after moving out of the CVRDE quarters, she said.

After completing his Bachelors in Commerce at DRBCCC Hindu College at Avadi, he started working at Accenture’s BPO at Shollinganallur along with his elder brother. “He is a very reserved person in nature and won’t mingle with anyone easily. But with friends, he will be very jovial,” said K Vignesh, Thirumani’s close friend and colleague.

S Manoj, a family friend, said that his death was a personal loss to all of them. He sought immediate and strict action against the stone pelters who killed Thirumani. “People will lose trust in the government if tourists are getting killed in our own country. The government should act swiftly and punish those who killed Thirumani,” he said.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Tuesday announced a solatium of Rs three lakh to the family of Thirumani Selvam, who died in stone pelting incident by protestors while on a tourist visit to Gulmarg in Jammu and Kashmir.

Expressing grief and deep anguish over his death, Palaniswami, in a statement, said he has directed the officials to take all steps to bring the body of Selvam to his native place Tiruvallur near here and the authorities in Tamil Nadu House in New Delhi has initiated steps

in this regard with the assistance of the Jammu and Kashmir government.

Stating that about 130 tourists from Tamil Nadu have gone as tourists, the Chief Minister said he spoke to his Jammu and Kashmir counterpart Ms Mehbooba Mufti over the phone and requested her to ensure the safe return of the tourists.