A week after senior DMK leader and former Tamil Nadu MP Masthan passed away in what appeared as a death due to ailments, the police have now revealed that Masthan was murdered and that the 'death due to health issues' was a ploy. Probing the case, the police have arrested five people in connection to the murder and the cops are questioning them. 

Masthan was died on December 22 and it was said that he died due to chest pain. He was travelling in a car in Urappakkam near Chennai during which he suffered a cardiac arrest. He was taken to a private hospital where he was declared brought dead. In the midst of condolences from the DMK leaders including Chief Minister MK Stalin, Masthan's son filed a complaint with the Guduvancheri police after casting suspicions on his father's death. 

Based on his complaint, the police filed a case and launched a probe into Masthan's death and in the course of investigation, the police have now discovered that Masthan was murdered due to familial disagreements with him over financial matters. The Guduvancheri police have arrested five people - Imran, Naseer, Sulthan, Thoufik, and Lokesh in connection to Masthan's murder. 

According to reports, during questioning with the arrested accused, the police came to know that the reports of Masthan's chest pain was a ploy. According to our sources, Imran was Masthan's car driver and the accused stuffed a cloth over Masthan's mouth and strangled him to death. The news that Masthan was murdered came as a shock to the DMK leaders as he was one of the top secretaries in the party, leading its minority rights wing and he was also serving as the vice president of Tamil Nadu Minorities Commission. 

Masthan had a political affiliation with the ADMK before joining DMK and he was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Tamil Nadu from an ADMK ticket. He served as an MP from 1995 to 2001. Some years back, Masthan quitted from ADMK and joined its rival DMK. He was appointed as the chief of the party's minority rights wing. After DMK came to power, Masthan was made the vice president of the Minorities Commission. 

Masthan was traveling in a car in Urappakkam near Chennai on December 22 during which he suffered a cardiac arrest. Masthan's death has come as a big tragedy for his family at a high time when he was making arrangements for his son's engagement. It was reported that the engagement event was scheduled to be held on December 22 and for the past few days, Masthan was busy inviting the relatives for the function.

On December 21, Masthan met minister Udhayanidhi Stalin and extended his wishes to him. However, within a day, Masthan had passed away and his untimely demise had saddened the party and its cadres. In his condolence note, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin wrote, "I was deeply shocked to learn about the death of Dr Masthan, who was a former Rajya Sabha MP and vice president of State Minorities Commission. I extend my tribute to him. Dr Masthan, who had a respect and affection on me, had always etched the party's spirit in his heart. He had completely dedicated him to the service and development of DMK's Minority rights wing." 

"Today I am grieving the loss of social worker who not only worked for the welfare of minorities but also to people of all communities. Whenever I visit Anna Arivalayam, he (Masthan) will welcome me with a happy face and he met me a few days ago and dearly invited me to his son's engagement. The loss of Masthan, who was a good humanitarian, social worker, and dedicated cadre, is irreplaceable. I extend my deepest condolences to the bereaving family and to the brothers and sisters of minority communities", MK Stalin added.