Four persons were arrested on Wednesday for the murder of a 30-year-old man at a restaurant in Panchetty near Sholavaram on Tuesday night.
The arrested persons — R. Kamal Arasan (22), the main suspect, and his friends K. Lakshmanan (24), B. Silabarasan (22), and K. Prabhakaran (23) — had committed the murder following an argument with the victim. Three other suspects were still absconding, the police said.
According to the police, the victim, S. Ramu, a resident of Ponneri who was working in a private firm in Thatchur near Sholavaram, was having dinner at a restaurant in Andalkuppam near Sholavaram on Tuesday night. Around 7.30 p.m., Kamal Arasan, who is an unemployed youth from the neighbouring Nedurapakkam village, along with a group of friends came to the restaurant to have dinner.
On an earlier occasion, during a cricket match in the neighbourhood, Kamal and Ramu had fought over a petty issue. This existing animosity between the two men led to Kamal picking an argument with Ramu at the restaurant. He, along with his friends, bashed Ramu. An injured Ramu rushed to Thatchur and told a group of friends there about the incident. Along with six friends, he returned to the restaurant at around 9.30 p.m. The two groups of men then clashed and Ramu was hacked to death. Sustaining serious injuries, Ramu died on the spot, while the other men fled the scene.
The body was taken to Government Taluk Hospital in Ponneri for post-mortem examination.
Based on information given by a friend of Ramu’s, the police tracked down the four men and arrested them at Nedurapakkam village on Wednesday morning. A case of murder under section 302 of the IPC has been registered by the Sholavaram police.
