A 45-year-old functionary of the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam ( TVK ) was brutally hacked to death by a five-member gang in upscale Adyar late on Saturday, police said.
As he was a history-sheeter, the police were continuously monitoring his activities both directly and covertly. Based on the complaint filed by S Kannan’s maternal uncle Purushothamman, a case was registered by the police. A special team was formed under the instructions of Chennai Police Commissioner A Amalraj, and five persons were arrested.
A close friend of Kannan, who was present at the time of the incident, said, “I and along with my friends were speaking to Kannan around 9.30 – 9.45 pm on Saturday night. Bharani, 20, Rakesh, 20, Naresh, 20, Manikandan, 20, and Hariharan, 20, were arrested under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, he said. Five members, all aged 20, were arrested in connection with the incident, police said, adding that initial investigations indicated that it occurred due to previous enmity.
Meanwhile, a senior police official said five persons had been arrested under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). “They have been arrested and investigation is going on,” an official said on condition of anonymity. Elaborating, he said S Kannan was a resident of the Vannandurai area in Adyar and was running a business of renting cars to Information Technology companies.
Responding to a query, he said that in 2009, Kannan and his associates murdered Siva, the maternal uncle of Bharani, one of the five accused. “Bharani’s father was Velu was also murdered in Saidapet. An investigation was on,” he added.
Due to this prior enmity, the accused Bharani, along with his accomplices, decided to murder Kannan.
