Gang kills man, wife in Pongal day attack in Washermenpet; 7 arrested

CHENNAI: The revenge attack on Pongal day in which a history sheeter was killed by a gang became a double murder after his wife, too, succumbed to the injuries at the Government Stanley Medical College Hospital.

The city police arrested seven accused in the double murder that happened in Washermenpet area.

On Tuesday night, the gang led by Vallarasu (24) barged into the home of Ulaganathan (33), a history sheeter with more than 20 cases, including two murder cases, and attacked him with knives. His wife Malathi, who was there at their home in Thideer Nagar, New Washermanpet, was also attacked when she tried to intervene.

Based on a complaint lodged by Ulaganathan’s grandmother, Valarmathi, the police arrested seven accused, including Vallarasu, Anthony (21), Ebinesar (24), Ezilarasan (19), Manoj (19), Gunasekar (18), and Salim (20). The accused have been remanded to judicial custody.

After preliminary inquiries, the police believe that the murder was orchestrated by Vallarasu, whose history-sheeter father N Desingu (46) was murdered last year. The police had arrested five people, including a juvenile delinquent, in connection with Desingu's murder.

But Vallarasu allegedly harboured enmity with Ulaganathan, as he believed that the latter provided refuge to the murderers.