CHENNAI: A decade after a youth was stabbed to death by a gang for not sharing the money that they looted from a car, a sessions court awarded life imprisonment to six youth for the murder.
The additional sessions court in Chennai which conducted the trial against ten accused, all in their mid-20s, held six of them guilty and awarded them life sentences along with Rs 10,000 as fine.
One of the accused died during the investigation, and hence the charge against him was abated, while the other three accused were acquitted as the prosecution could not prove the charges against them.
The murder victim, Dharanidharan, and Kalaivanan were close associates in their criminal activities, including cheating and stealing. In 2015, both of them looted a huge amount of money from a car that was coming from Andhra Pradesh. There was a dispute between them in sharing the loot, which led to animosity, said the prosecution.
Angry that he did not get his fair share, Kalaivanan decided to take revenge. He conspired with his friends to murder Dharanidharan. On June 20, 2015, Kalaivanan and his gang intercepted Dharanidharan near Bells Road mosque in Chepauk. They stabbed Dharanidharan with deadly weapons and fled from the spot.
Dharanidharan sustained serious injuries in the attack and was rushed to Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, where he succumbed on June 22, 2015.
Based on a complaint, the Triplicane police registered a case against Kesavan, Rajendra Prasath, Vijaya Dinesh, Kalaivanan and five others under 120 (B), 147, 148, 341 and 302 of IPC.