Kin go on rampage after gang murders brick kiln owner

According to police, 47-year-old Venkataramu of Melmanambedu village has been running a brick kiln. On Wednesday morning, as he was at the entrance waiting for the car to go to the brick kiln, a seven-member gang landed there in two cars and two bikes.

They first rammed Venkataramu, who lost balance and fell on the road. Before he could get back on his feet, the group surrounded him with weapons. He tried to run inside the house to escape, but they chased him and hacked him multiple times inside his house. Hearing his screams, his wife Grace and daughter Janani came out of their room and saw Venkataramu being hacked in front of them.

On noticing them, the gang got back to their vehicles and escaped from the spot. Neighbours rushed him to Tiruvallur government hospital where he succumbed to the injuries. On information, Vellavedu police registered a case and launched a hunt for the suspects.

After preliminary inquiry, police suspect that Venkataramu could have been murdered over previous enmity, as there was an ongoing tussle between him and a few others after his elder brother Thangaraj, a former panchayat president, was murdered in 2016. Investigation is on to ascertain whether he was murdered over business rivalry.

Tension prevailed in Melmanambedu after his relatives set ablaze a few houses and damaged the vehicles parked on the road, claiming that those people knew who the murderers are. Over a hundred police personnel led by DSP Gangadaran were deployed in the village.  Security was also beefed up at Tiruvallur government hospital where Venkataramu’s body has been kept.