Gang kills history-sheeter in T P Chathram, five arrested

A heavily armed six-member gang hacked Murugan alias ‘Theechatti’ Murugan (34) and his friend Narayanan inside the store around 10.30 pm, police said. Murugan died on the spot and a grievously injured Narayanan was rushed to the Government Royapettah Hospital. 

Police have arrested five persons in connection with the murder. The accused were identified as M R Martin (24), Rajesh alias Rajesh Khanna ((22), V Akash (22), S Rohit (27) and S Gopi (32), all residents of T P Chathiram. Police said one of the accused is absconding and a search is on to nab him. 

Police said, Murugan and his friend Narayanan were talking inside a provisional store, owned by the former, near a police booth in T P Chathiram when a gang came to the spot on three bikes and started attacking the duo. When Murugan tried to counter the attack of the gang, he suffered several deep cuts to his elbows, neck and died on the spot. The gang also attacked Narayanan, who tried to save Murugan, before escaping from the spot. 

Murugan had been accused of murdering another history-sheeter Jayaraj in 2013. Police suspect that Jayaraj’s gang members could have killed Murugan to avenge the murder of Jayaraj. Soon after the murder, tension gripped T P Chathiram and nearby areas. A large posse of police has been deployed in the area to avoid any escalation of the situation. A special team has been formed to arrest the assailants. All the shops in the area were closed after the killing of Murugan. 

The body was handed over to the family after a post-mortem at Kilpauk Medial College. Police are keeping a tight vigil following intelligence reports indicating possible retaliation by Murugan’s gang members and violence during his funeral procession. “We have some leads regarding the assailants. There are possibilities of a retaliation and we are closely watching the activities,” a police officer said.