3 murdered in southern districts

Tirunelveli: Three men including two youths were hacked to death in separate incidents in Tuticorin, Tirunelveli and Tenkasi districts on Saturday night and early on Sunday.

In Tuticorin, S Ramesh, 22, a construction worker of Murugesan Nagar in the cityquarrelled with his parents and went to his friend Daniel’s house on Saturday. Daniel slept inside the house with his family and Ramesh slept on the terrace. Early on Sunday, Daniel heard his friend’s cryand he rushed to the terrace to see three men with machetes and knives attacking his friend. The trio fled the place in a jiffy. The victim’s body was sent to the Thoothukudi Medical College Hospital for autopsy. Tuticorin North police registered a case.

Another 22-year-old was hacked to death by a gang over previous enmity at Tsunami Colony at Kuthenkuzhi coastal village, Tirunelveli. The victim, S Antro Abinash, had a dispute with S Chandru, 22, of the same locality after a clash during a temple festival in January. Chandru and his gang attacked Abinash with machetes near his house late on Saturday. The eight-member gang then fled the place on bikes. Chandru was rushed to the hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival. Kudankulam police nabbed three of the accused.

In another incident, Chinna Maharajan, 55, of Melaneelithanallur near Sankarankovil in Tenkasi district died when he was attacked by Maharajan, 38, a milk vendor, and his father Chellapandian with logs on Sunday morning. It is learnt that Chinna Maharajan had picked a quarrel with Maharajan and attacked him with a machete. The two others retaliated, leaving Chinna Maharajan dead on the spot. Maharajan, who suffered a cut on his neck, was taken to the Sankarankovil Government Hospital, while his father was detained by police.