Man beaten to death over Rs 10,000 debt

CHENNAI: M Mohan Raj (27) was allegedly beaten to death by a gang for not repaying a loan of Rs 10,000 on Friday morning in Avadi.

Mohan, from Gowri pettai in Avadi, was working as a water-tractor driver in the city. His friend Prabhu (32) from Pudhu Nagar was also working with him. The duo collect water from the Metro Water pumping station and distribute it to hundreds of residents in the locality every day in a tractor.

Police said that Mohan had taken a loan of Rs 10,000 from Prabhu around 6 months ago. For the past few weeks, when Prabhu demanded the money back, Mohan had dodged the subject which led to heated arguments between the duo, said the police. On Thursday, Prabhu had called Mohan several times to ask him for the money and the latter had not responded, said cops.

On Friday at around 6.15 am, Mohan reached the parking lot opposite Avadi Housing Board, to pick up the vehicle when Prabhu, along with two of his friends, blocked him and argued with him. When Mohan kept avoiding them, Prabhu, allegedly hit him with an iron rod (used to manually rotate the accelerator in the tractor), after which, his two friends joined in the assault, police said.

After the assault, the three sped away from the spot, leaving him in the pool of blood. Mohan who was rushed to the Stanley Government Hospital was declared dead on arrival.

Based on information, the Avadi police registered a case and arrested him, P Sathish (26) from Kamarajar Nagar and S Francis (23), a cable TV operator from Gandhi Nagar in Avadi.

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