A 22-year-old youth, R. Amaresan, accused in a murder case, was hacked to death inside a bus on Dindigul-Madurai highway at Thanichiyam near Vadipatti on Friday afternoon.
It was an act of revenge executed after six years, said Virudhuagnagar Superintendent of Police, M. Rajarajan (who holds additional charge of Madurai).
Inspecting the scene of crime, he said Amar was the third accused in the murder of Ram Prasad in 2011 under Karimedu police station limits in the city. The relatives and friends of Ram Prasad were behind the murder, he said.
The police said that Amar was travelling in a State-run bus that was proceeding to Arapalayam bus stand in the city from Batlagundu in Dindigul district.
While it was passing through Thanichiyam on the four-way highway, a car and two motorbikes intercepted the bus.
An armed gang, numbering around 10 persons, barged into the bus and started attacking Amar, who was seated closer to the front entrance of the bus. All the attempts made by the victim to escape from the scene went in vain.
After leaving him dead in a pool of blood, the gang escaped in their vehicles. The incident took place at around 2.15 p.m.
Three special teams have been formed to nab the accused, the SP said.