The deceased was N Ajay alias 'Bali Aadu' Ajay of SVM Nagar in Otteri. Ajay had over five criminal cases pending against him and worked part-time as a delivery agent.

According to the Washermenpet police, Ajay had dropped a friend near Old Washermenpet on Sunday night and was returning home when he was intercepted by a six-member gang. The assailants allegedly attacked him with knives.

Although Ajay attempted to escape, the gang chased him and repeatedly hacked him before fleeing the scene.

Passersby alerted the police, who rushed Ajay to a government hospital, where doctors declared him dead. His body has been sent for postmortem.

The police said preliminary inquiries revealed that Ajay had earlier been associated with the accused but later parted ways. Investigators suspect a recent dispute, allegedly triggered after Ajay interacted with a woman related to one of the accused on social media, escalated into the fatal attack. Further investigation is ongoing.