A 28-year-old cab driver was hacked to death in Porur by a gang of four men in full public view on Tuesday morning.
The assailants, who were his wife’s brother and relatives, were arrested a few hours later.
The Kundrathur police said the victim, N. Kumar, was a resident of Mananchery in Kundrathur. Two years ago Kumar was employed as a car driver at the residence of an office assistant, Chittibabu, who worked at the Village Administrative Office in Kundrathur, in the Natham area.
“Kumar fell in love with Chittibabu’s daughter and they decided to get married. However, Chittibabu and his elder son Satish strongly opposed the relationship and terminated Kumar’s service,” said an investigating officer.
Soon after, the woman’s family forcibly got her married to a resident of Kundrathur. However, she continued to have a relationship with Kumar, who was working with a private travel agency. When her husband and his family came to know about the affair a year ago, she and Kumar eloped, the police said.
They got married and returned to Kumar’s house a few months ago. Enraged over the couple’s action, the woman’s family decided to avenge the humiliation. Satish, his cousin Udayakumar and two uncles, Sivanandhan and Divakaran, decided to murder Kumar.
“The four men waited for Kumar on a road from Kundrathur to Porur and intercepted him when he was on his way to work on his motorcycle. Around 8.15 p.m., they hacked him with knives and sickles, killed him on the spot, and fled,” the officer said.
A Kundrathur police team reached the spot and started a probe. All four assailants were arrested within hours of the murder. They will be remanded to custody on Wednesday and sent to Puzhal prison.
