A day after he was brutally assaulted by a four-member gang, Gopi (26), succumbed to his injuries at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital around 2 a.m. on Monday.
Police said that around 5.15 p.m. on Sunday, a gang led by history-sheeter Raji alias Rajesh (29) from Tambaram, chased and attacked Gopi, also a history-sheeter, with whom the gang had a longstanding rivalry.
Gopi’s friends, who were in the area, spotted the attackers and came running to his rescue. Rajesh and his gang tried to flee, but Gopi’s friends managed to pin down Rajesh and hacked him to death with his sickle. They also attacked Jaganathan, who had accompanied Rajesh.
Meanwhile, Sembium police on Monday arrested four persons, Jaganathan (18), a resident of Kolathur, Ruban (24), a resident of Thiru Vi Ka Nagar, Saravanan (24), also a resident of Thiru Vi Ka Nagar, and Manikandan (22), a resident of Sembium, for both murders.
While Jaganathan was a close associate of Rajesh, the rest were Gopi’s friends, police said.