Gang chases man in Pondy Bazaar, hacks him to death inside house

CHENNAI: A 25-year-old man was chased and hacked to death by a seven-member gang in Pondy Bazaar around 10.45 pm on Thursday. The fleeing man, who managed to run about 300 metres, was finally cornered when he went up to the second floor of a house and could go no further.
Special teams have been formed to nab the culprits. The police identified the slain man as Athavan, a resident of Thiruvalluvar quarters in Teynampet.The murder, it is suspected by the police, was the fallout of previous enmity.
On Thursday night, he was sitting at a temple in Teynampet when the gang accosted him. Spotting them, he began running and the latter gave chase. While running, Athavan reached Giriappa Road in T Nagar, spotted a house whose doors were open and burst in. He ran up the stairs to the second floor where Ethiraj and his family live when he realised that there was no escape. The house has only two floors. By this time, the pursuing gang members had reached him. They slashed his body with sickles, left him lying in a pool of blood and fled.
According to the police, few people noticed the incident which occurred late at night. After a while, some people noticed the body and informed the police, who rushed to the spot. The body was sent to the Royapettah government hospital for autopsy.
Athavan, police officials said, was one of a gang which attempted to murder Kuttiappan alias Kumaresan in 2007. He was arrested and remanded in prison. A court sentenced him to seven years rigorous imprisonment. He then moved a higher court and was recently released on bail.
Preliminary inquiries revealed that Kuttiappan and his accomplices were behind the murder. "Special teams have been assigned to track down the culprits Kuttiappan, Karthik, Murthy, Manikandan, Jai, Madhan and Suman. We will nab them soon," a senior police officer said.
The Soundarapandianar Angadi police registered a case and further investigations are on.