CHENNAI: In two separate incidents, a lawyer and a realtor were murdered in Chennai and its outskirts on Sunday night.
In the first case, K Rajesh, 45, a lawyer practising at the Egmore court, was standing in front of his house at Villivakkam when a gang brutally hacked him to death. Rajesh is an accused in the murder of an advocate in the Egmore court premises in 2015, said police. He is also the founder of a political party called 'Makkal Aalum Arasiyal' and is said to be a relative of a history-sheeter Somu.
“On Sunday evening, he returned home after inaugurating a football tournament in Vyasarpadi and was standing outside his house when a group of men reached the spot and started hacking him with machetes. Rajesh's skull was broken into two and completely disfigured since the gang hit him only on the head. There were 18 cut marks on his head,” said a police officer.
After the gang fled, Villivakkam police rushed to the spot on being alerted and sent his body for post-mortem to the Kilpauk Medical College Hospital.
A case has been registered and a hunt has been launched for the suspects by forming four special teams. CCTV footage in and around the murder spot has also been retrieved. Police said that Rajesh shifted to Villivakkam recently and suspect that he could have been murdered over previous enmity.
In Kancheepuram, 32-year-old Sathish, a resident of Padappai, had travelled to visit his friend in Kavanur village and was returning home, along with his friends Ramu, Arumugam and Raja in a car.
“At around 10 pm, when the vehicle was on the Oranthur flyover near Padappai, another car blocked their way and four men barged out of the vehicle and charged at Sathish and his friends. Since there was no other way to escape, all four men took to their heels on the flyover,” said a police officer.
The four-member gang caught Sathish and brutally hacked him in front of several witnesses. The Manimangalam police registered a case and sent the body to the Chengalpattu Government Hospital. According to the police, Sathish was a realtor who was recently involved in many new projects. Police suspect business rivalry and further investigations are on.