 He was hacked to death near his K. K. Nagar residence on 20 May 2003.Several arrests were made and when the DMK came to power in Tamil Nadu in 2006, the case was transferred to Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh after the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) sought intervention by the Supreme Court of India.The AIADMK said that a fair trial might not be possible in a Tamil Nadu court because the primary accused, M. K. Alagiri, was the son of Karunanidhi, by then the DMK Chief Minister.