DINDIGUL: In two shocking incidents, a 12-member-gang hacked three sanitary workers to death in broad daylight in different places on Friday. The men fled the scene on motorcycles soon after the incident.
Police sources identified the deceased as Balamurugan (40), Veera alias Madurai Veeran (35) and Saravanan (32) of Nettu Street here. The deceased were sanitary workers engaged by a contractor to work in the corporation wards.
While Balamurugan was involved in cleaning work at the Siluvathur, Saravanan and Veera, both brothers, were working in Sourastrapuram and Railway Station Road. At that time, the attackers came to the spots on two-wheelers.
They surrounded Balamurugan and before he could realise what was happening, hacked him to death with deadly weapons. His body lay on the road in a pool of blood. While this was happening other members of the gang went to Sourastrapuram and Railway Station Road and attacked the two brothers with lethal weapons.
They sustained severe injuries and died on the spot. Both the murders took place in the morning hours and the people, who witnessed the murders ran away. Superintendent of Police R Sakthivel visited the spots and interacted with the police personnel of the respective areas, on the murders.
According to police sources, the murders were part of an old gang rivalry. In 2016, one Somasundaram of Dindigul was murdered by a gang near Manikoondu. Police arrested some persons, including the three now-dead sanitary workers. However, they were later released on bail. Afterwards they were lodged in prison under the Goondas Act and got released two months ago.
The Dindigul South and North police stations registered cases on the triple murder. Police have arrested 11 people in relation to the triple murder till now. They were interrogated till evening. Further enquiry is on.
In another suspected incident of crime, the decomposed body of a baby was recovered from inside a vessel at VOC Nagar railway station in Chennai on Friday.
Police said a few children were playing at Ilaya Mudhali Street, when one of them went to pick up a ball near a pit of stagnating water.
“He smelt something foul and informed his friends who, in turn, opened the vessel lid to find a baby stuffed inside. They immediately alerted parents and the police came to the spot and recovered the body,” said a police officer.