CHENNAI: Two youths were hacked to death allegedly over a long-running land dispute near Maraimalai Nagar on Saturday night. Police said the victims, P Vimal alias Gopikannan (22) and M Jegan alias Jegatheesan (21), were attacked with knives and stones by a group of men during a birthday party at Gandhi Nagar in Ninnakarai.
According to the Maraimalai Nagar police, Vimal died on the spot while Jegan was rushed to the Chengalpattu Government Hospital but died without responding to treatment. The bodies were sent for postmortem. A case has been registered and a search has been launched to trace the suspects.
The police said Vimal and Jegan were residents of the same locality and preliminary inquiries revealed a land dispute in Vimal’s family. Around 20 days back, a fight broke out over drainage work that was being carried out in front of Vimal’s house. Vimal got into a scuffle with his relative K Nitish (19), who lives nearby. Jegan had sided with Vimal in the incident, the police added.
On Friday night, an argument allegedly broke out between Vimal and Nitish, at the birthday party in which Nitish, Mahi and one more person attacked Vimal and Jegan with knives and stones, police said.
Hacked over affair
In another incident, 43-year-old Manikandan was hacked to death near his home in Madhavaram Milk Colony late Saturday night. The police said that he was attacked by three men, including Jayaprakash, the husband of a woman Manikandan was allegedly having an affair with. The assault took place when Manikandan was returning from a liquor shop with a friend.
He suffered severe injuries and died at the hospital around midnight. Police said Jayaprakash had previously warned him to stop the affair. A case has been registered by the Madhavaram Milk Colony police, and a search is on.