TIRUCHY: The Tiruchy police are searching for a nine-member gang which murdered a DMK Town Panchayat Council member in the late hours of Monday.

According to sources, A Ranjith Kumar (38), Koothappar Town DMK Youth Wing Secretary and Town Panchayat Council (ward 11) member, owned a bar near a Tasmac outlet near the Government ITI in Tiruverumbur.

In the late hours of Monday, Ranjith Kumar was heading towards home after rolling down the shutter of his bar, when he was stopped by an unidentified gang. Nine men brutally murdered him and escaped.

The passersby who noticed the body passed on the information to the Navalpattu police, who rushed to the spot. The police retrieved the body and sent it to Tiruchy Government Hospital for post-mortem examination. On information, SP S Selvanagarathinam rushed to the crime scene and conducted an inquiry. The forensic experts and sniffer dog Cauvery were also brought for the investigation.

The police who retrieved the CCTV footage from the bar found that a gang of nine people had attacked Ranjith Kumar. The SP constituted eight special teams to nab the culprits.

Ranjith Kumar is survived by his wife, two daughters and a son.