TIRUVARUR: A gang on Monday murdered Muthupettai Panchayat Union ward member R Rajesh (38) and reportedly severed his head, creating panic in the town. The murder is said to be a follow-up of another murder which took place in 2015 in which Rajesh was an accused.
According to sources, Rajesh of Manalmedu was elected as an independent from Ward 11 in the elections held in 2020. He later joined the AIADMK.On Monday, a gang which came by a car hit Rajesh while he was riding a two-wheeler from Kovilur to Alangadu through East Coast Road. Rajesh, who fell off the bike, got up and broke into a run. The gang gave him a chase and hacked him to death. The members then severed his head, wrapped it up in a lungi and left on a two-wheeler. However, when the bike rode over a speed-breaker in Azad Nagar, the head reportedly fell on the road.
People who were around panicked and ran helter-skelter, even as the gang sped away. Police retrieved the head, the body and also a revolver from the site. Preliminary inquiry revealed that Rajesh reportedly tore a banner of a particular community association in 2014. Following this, members from the association reportedly attacked his supporters. In a bid to avenge his death, Rajesh’s gang murdered Madan in 2015.