R. Sankara Das (28), Veliyambakkam panchayat president, was hacked to death by unidentified persons near the Villupuram by-pass road on Tuesday.
He was also the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's youth wing organiser at Koliyanur. Police sources said when Das, who came on a motorcycle to Villupuram to buy pipes, was returning, certain persons waiting at a bus stop with lethal weapons pounced upon him and inflicted fatal injuries, killing him on the spot.
The police are following many angles in the crime: political rivalry dogging him ever since he got elected and the strife between him and the previous panchayat president over maintenance of local body accounts.
The police also said in a clash between supporters of Das and the erstwhile panchayat president during Pongal festival cases were booked against nine persons.
