CHENNAI: A 40-year-old man who accompanied his relative to question a group for public drinking was beaten to death in neighbouring Tiruvallur district on Saturday.

The deceased man was identified as C Karthikeyan of Ekkadukandigai village. Around 8 pm on Friday, Karthikeyan's relative, K Sankar, was walking back home from a provision store when he noticed a group drinking in an empty plot near a mechanic's shed.

As the group was loud and creating a ruckus, Sankar questioned the youth and asked them to disperse.

The group verbally abused Sankar, after which he went home and shared the incident with his family. While doing so, Karthikeyan, who was visiting Sankar's home, heard about the incident and told Sankar that they should go and question them.

When Sankar and Karthikeyan went to question the group, they ganged up and assaulted Sankar. Karthikeyan took his mobile phone and tried to film the incident. The gang's attention turned towards Karthikeyan, and they attacked him with stones.

As the man fainted, the group fled the scene, after which Sankar alerted the villagers and moved Karthikeyan to a hospital, where he was declared brought dead. Pullarambakkam Police have registered a case of murder and have launched a search for six suspects from the same village.