Chennai: Electrician hacked to death in broad daylight

CHENNAI: A 32-year-old electrician was hacked to death in broad daylight near a private school in Mondiyamman Nagar near Red Hills on Wednesday, over his alleged extramarital relationship. The deceased was identified as Rathinavel Pandian (32) of Mondiyamman Nagar.

Police have arrested three persons, including the brothers of the victim’s estranged wife, for the murder. 

Police said Rathinavel was riding a two-wheeler near a private school on VOC. Nagar Street when two men waylaid him and attacked him repeatedly with sickles before fleeing the spot. Hearing his cries, locals rushed to help and alerted police.

Police rushed the injured man to the hospital, where he was declared as brought dead. The body was sent to the Government Stanley Hospital for post-mortem. 

During investigation, police found that Rathinavel was married with two sons. The family lived at Kavangarai near Puzhal. He had separated from his wife and allegedly entered into an extramarital relationship with his wife’s sister-in-law and had been living with her near Mondiyamman Nagar for the past few months. 

Despite repeated warnings from relatives, Rathinavel refused to end the relationship. Enraged over this, his wife’s brothers – Saravanan (39) and Dhanasekaran (34) – and a relative Palanisamy (45), plotted to murder Rathinavel, which they executed on Wednesday. 

All three were arrested. Two knives and a two-wheeler used in the crime were seized. They were produced before a magistrate and remanded to judicial custody.