5 aides kill gang leader, held

The accused were identified as Deepak (24), Nagaraj (23) and Alayavasan (25) of Manivakkam, Amaravel (22) of Adanur, and Ramesh (25) from Salem. All of them are repeat offenders and were friends with the deceased.

Veera, who had many cases pending against him, came out on bail recently after being arrested for robbing Rs 1 lakh from a petrol bunk in Tambaram. According to the police, Veera had arguments with his friends over sharing the loot, as he used to give them only a paltry sum. He had allegedly also threatened to kill his aides if they asked for more money. Frustrated with this, others in his gang decide to kill him, said the police.

On Saturday night, they invited Veera for a drinking party. Around midnight, when they were near a shop in Urapakkam, Veera received a phone call. As he was talking over the phone, the five accused surrounded and attacked him using knives and sickles, before fleeing.

The Guduvanchery police rushed Veera to Chengalpattu government hospital where he was declared brought dead. The police identified the suspects using CCTV footage and arrested them on Monday. They have been remanded injudicial custody.