CHENNAI:Seven persons were arrested by the City Police in connection with the daylight murder of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) functionary in Madhavaram, on Tuesday arising from previous enmity.
On Monday, J Murali, alias ‘Pothys Murali, the Madhavaram unit functionary of BSP, who was a resident of Thiruvallur Street, Madhavaram, was greeted at his front door by a gang who picked up a quarrel with him. The gang pulled out lethal weapons and Murali, sensing the danger, took to his heels. The gang caught up with him after a short chase and hacked him to death.
Murali, a history-sheeter, implicated in several murders and attempts-to-murder cases was given the moniker ‘Pothys’, after he had allegedly robbed a cashier working in Pothys in 2012.
The arrested were identified as Thyagarajan, (36), Ranjith, (29), Rathnam, (36), Nagaraj, (41), Prabhu, (27), Prabhakaran, (35), and Arokyaraj, (26), all from the locality. Rathnam, Nagaraj, Ranjith and Thyagarajan are relatives of Murali. The feud which led to Murali’s murder arose after a friend of Murali reportedly teased Thyagarajan’s niece. Murali, instead of chiding his friend, picked up an altercation with Thyagarajan and thrashed him.
Murali also had an enmity with Ranjith, who Murali believed tipped off the police in a murder case in 2013. The gang was also jealous of the thriving business of Murali.