A retired bank manager was hacked to death by an armed gang at his house at East Ambikapuram in the city on Monday.
A three-member gang carried out the deadly attack in the afternoon at Venkateswara Nagar, a densely populated area, where the victim P. Rathnam (68) lived.
The police said the killers arrived in a car at the house of Rathnam under the pretext of renting the upstairs portion of his residence. The victim escorted the three to upstairs where they took out sharp weapons and allegedly attacked him in a flash after entering the room.
Upon hearing the cries of Rathnam, his wife Vasuki and another person rushed out from the ground floor. The gang members came out from upstairs and fled the spot abandoning the car parked in front of the house of Rathnam who died on the spot.
Rathnam has a son and a daughter who lives in Puducherry.
A senior police officer said there were 15 cuts on the body of Rathnam who had retired from the State Bank of India nearly a decade ago. The culprits apparently tried to hire an autorickshaw parked on the adjoining street after committing the murder.
However, upon noticing blood stains on the culprits’ dress, the driver refused to oblige and the culprits took to their heels.
The deadly attack in the afternoon sent shock waves in the neighbourhood.
A large number of people assembled in front of the victim’s house situated on a narrow street.
The culprits executed the crime in a flash and vanished. The car bearing a Chennai registration number was used for committing the crime, the officer said.
Commissioner of Police Shailesh Kumar Yadav, accompanied by Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime and Traffic) R. Jayanthi, and senior police officers, inspected the crime scene.
Fingerprint experts examined the abandoned car looking out for possible prints inside and outside the vehicle. Scientific assistants inspected the spot where a tracker dog was brought to track the route taken by the culprits.
The motive behind the crime would be ascertained only after nabbing the culprits, say police sources.
Four special teams have been constituted to probe the murder.
The Ariyamangalam police are investigating.
