Rivalry between two gangs has reportedly resulted in the murder of an alleged ganja peddler R. Murugan alias Senthil Murugan (35).
Police sources said that a gang of more than 10 men came on two-wheelers and hacked Murugan with sickles, killing him on the spot at Thiruvathavur on Saturday.
The deceased is the brother of R. Senthil Pandi, who was arrested two weeks ago by the Narcotic Intelligence Bureau for allegedly smuggling 124 kilograms of ganja.
Rivalry between the gangs of Senthil Pandi and ‘Load’ Murugan was believed to be the motive behind the murder, police sources said. Senthil Pandi’s uncle P. Meganathan (52) was hacked to death at Sourashtrapuram under Anna Nagar police limits in the city in May 2016, for which men allegedly belonging to ‘Load’ Murugan’s gang were arrested.
According to the police, the rivalry had been brewing since 2013 when an attempt at Senthil Pandi’s life was made by P. Udhaya, the then leader of the opposite gang, due to suspicion that Senthil Pandi had tipped-off the police about Udhaya’s ganja peddling operations.
The feud so far claimed six lives, including that of Murugan on Saturday. Police said they had secured some CCTV footage, which reportedly captured the images of some key members of the rival gang.
