Cops hunting for leader of mercenary gang

City police are searching for the leader of a mercenary gang that killed DMK functionary Selvam in suburban Madipakkam on Tuesday night. The five men arrested in Vikravandi told the police that they were given an ‘assignment’ by gangster Murugesan to eliminate Selvam. “Only Murugesan will be knowing who wanted Selvam dead,” one of them reportedly told the police.

“We are on the lookout for Murugesan, who is a gangster from Vyasarpadi and has a number of cases, including murder, against him. Once he is secured, a clearer picture would emerge,” a senior police officer noted, adding that all angles are still being probed.

It may be recalled that police had detained an AIADMK functionary Radhakrishnan along with his driver from Tiruchy in the wee hours of Thursday in connection with the murder. Radhakrishnan of Rajakilpakkam is the secretary of AIADMK Amma Peravai in Thoothukudi district, and had contested for MLA post there, but lost to DMK’s Anitha Radhakrishnan, who is a minister now.

Radhakrishnan had previous enmity with Selvam, but he had told the police that it was a thing of the past and both were concentrating on their own business in recent times.

Five persons, identified as Vignesh (21) and Bhuvaneshwar (21) of Erukkanchery, Sanjay (21) of Vyasarpadi, Vignesh (21) of Arakkonam, Kishore Kumar (21) of Tiruvallur, who were nabbed from Vikravandi on Thursday, are said to have executed the killing on Tuesday night.

Selvam of Periyar Nagar in Madipakkam, a local DMK functionary, was into the real estate business. The DMK, on Friday, announced that his wife Samina Selvam would contest from ward number 188 in the coming Chennai corporation election. Selvam was the DMK secretary of the same ward.

The murder happened on Tuesday night when Selvam stepped out from his office at Rajaji Nagar to attend a phone call.