CHENNAI: Five persons surrendered in connection with Tuesday’s murder of AIADMK functionary Ezhumalai in Velachery. Police said the main accused, a relative of the victim, is still absconding.
Ezhumalai was on his usual morning walk when a gang surrounded and hacked him to death. Police investigation revealed that he was having a strained relationship with the in-laws of his deceased brother Mathiyazhagan. As police were tracing the suspects, on Wednesday four of them surrendered in a court at Tambaram and another in a court at George Town.
“The enmity started in 2011 when Mathiyazhagan died leaving a property dispute between his widow Sahaya Mary and Ezhumalai. Even on the funeral day, there were clashes between Ezhumalai and Sahaya Mary’s relatives,” said a police official.
The enmity developed over the years and Ezhumalai used to abuse the relatives of Sahaya Mary in public functions. “The immediate provocation was the fight between Ezhumalai and one Robin, also a relative of Mary, in a funeral last week. Robin and one Joseph hatched the plan to avenge the repeated abuses by Ezhumalai and took help of their friends,” the official added.
Those who have surrendered were identified as A Robin (22), S Vikram (23), A Saravanan (22), E Vinod Kumar (23) and Immanuel alias Aravind (19). Police are on the look out for Joseph who is absconding.