Two goons kill each other in drunken brawl at birthday party in Chennai

CHENNAI: Two youths with criminal backgrounds killed each other in a drunken brawl at a birthday celebration in Maraimalai Nagar early Sunday morning, onlookers told police. However, police have detained eight people, including a trangender, present at the birthday bash and are investigating further.The deceased P Vimal alias Gopikannan, 22, and M Jegan alias Jegatheesan, 21, are residents of Balaji Nagar neighbourhood near Maraimalai Nagar. Police said they had more than 20 criminal cases against them in Maraimalai Nagar and Guduvanchery police stations. The charges included attempt to murder, hurt, waylaying, narcotics cases.Police said initial investigations showed that Vimal and Jegan turned up drunk for the birthday celebrations of a friend, Magi, at an empty plot in Maramalai Nagar early on Sunday. They consumed more liquor at the party and soon started verbally abusing each other. Then they exchanged blows before pelting stones at each other. Finally, they pulled out knives and stabbed each other, police quoted onlookers as saying. Vimal reportedly died on the spot while the other youths rushed the heavily injured Jegan to a hospital, where he died soon after.According to the police, there was an altercation between the families of Vimal and Jegan last week over drainage work outside Vimal's house.This could have been the spark for their drunken clash.Maraimalai Nagar Police have registered a case of murder and moved both the bodies for post-mortem. Police are also investigating the roles of others who were in the birthday bash.