Man beaten to death at de-addiction centre, seven held in Chennai

CHENNAI: A 48-year-old man was beaten to death at a de-addiction centre in Royapettah on Monday and Annasalai police have arrested seven persons in connection with the murder.

The deceased M Raji of Ambedkar Nagar, an automobile mechanic, was admitted to Madras Care Centre, a de-addiction centre, as he was addicted to liquor. While he was discharged from the centre a few days ago, Raji's wife Kala (47) came to know that her husband had consumed liquor and was lying on the roadside on Monday and informed the de-addiction centre.

The centre allegedly sent the fellow inmates to pick up Raji. After reaching the centre, Raji allegedly created a ruckus and the inmates and staffers overpowered him and attacked him with wires and sticks.

Raji who became unconscious after the attack was rushed to the Government Royapettah Hospital, but he was declared brought dead.

Raising suspicion on Raji's death, Kala lodged a complaint at Annasalai police station and a case was registered. Since inquiries confirmed the assault, police registered a case of murder and arrested six suspects in the case.

They were identified as E Yuvaraj (26), D Selvamani (39), K Sathish (29), E Kesavan (42), M Saravanan (48), H Mohan (34) and H Parthasarathy (23).

Police said that Karthikeyan, who was running the centre, has been absconding with his wife, in whose name the centre has been registered. A hunt has been launched for the couple.

Police said that the centre had been functioning since 2022 and there were 19 inmates on Monday.