Panchayat president hacked to death in Tiruvallur district

Second local body member to be murdered in the district in less than a week

The president of a village panchayat near Vellavedu in Tiruvallur district was hacked to death by an unidentified gang on Friday while he was taking a morning walk.

This is the second such murder in Tiruvallur district in less than a week. On Sunday, a councillor of Tiruttani municipality was hacked to death by a gang.

Thangaraj (49), the president of Melmanambedu village, was also involved in the real estate business and the sale of bricks.

On Friday morning, he, along with two of his friends, was taking a walk on Pattabiram High Road when a gang of six men on motorcycles intercepted them.

The men were wearing helmets. When Thangaraj and his friends realised that the gang was trying to attack them, they began running.

While his friends managed to escape, the gang surrounded Thangaraj and attacked him with sickles and knives.

According to the police, the assailants left the place only after confirming that he was dead. Tension prevailed in the area as his supporters and residents of Melmanambedu and Vellavedu assembled on the Chennai- Tiruvallur High Road, demanding the immediate arrest of the culprits.

Senior officials rushed to the spot and held talks with the protesters. The police recovered the body of Thangaraj and sent it to the Government Hospital for post-mortem examination.

Police said that Thangaraj and his mother-in-law had been holding the post of panchayat president for the past 10 years and were planning to field another woman from the family for the upcoming local polls (as it had been reserved for women).

Police are still clueless about the motive behind the murder and are investigating if it was due to political or business rivalry.