CHENNAI: A case of road rage on Friday escalated into a murder in neighbouring Tiruvallur hours after the incident, as associates of one individual ganged up and beat up the other person to death in Pannur village near Mappedu.

The deceased was identified as Murali (45), a staff bus driver of a private factory. On Friday morning, Murali was ferrying the staff when he lost control of the vehicle which brushed against a motorcycle. The motorcyclist, Arun of Pannur village, was returning home with his family after visiting Sunguvarchathram.

Police said that Arun sustained minor injuries in the accident while the pillion rider escaped unhurt. An enraged Arun picked up an argument with the bus driver, Murali, initially, but the two of them eventually settled the matter amicably and left the scene.

Hours later, when Arun shared about the incident with his friends, they prodded him into picking a fight with the bus driver again, and allegedly took matters into their own hands.

On Friday evening, Arun's friends intercepted the bus near Pannur and pulled Murali out of the vehicle and beat him up before fleeing the scene. A severely injured Murali was rushed to the government hospital in Sriperumbudur where he died without responding to treatment.

Mappedu police have registered a case of murder and formed special teams to trace and apprehend the suspects.