Violence erupted near Bommayarpalayam on the ECR after a PMK functionary was hacked to death by a gang at Edayanchavadi near here on Tuesday evening.
The victim was identified as Rajendiran, husband of Bommayarpalayam panchayat president Suguna.
The murder sparked violent protests with relatives of Rajendiran damaging the windscreens of five buses including an AC Volvo bus of Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC).
Traffic was disrupted for more than two hours on the ECR due to the protest. A huge posse of police personnel have been deployed at Bommayarpalayam to prevent any untoward incident.
Police sources said Rajendiran who was into real estate dealings was going on a two-wheeler from Thiruchitrambalam Road to Bommayarpalayam when a group of unidentified persons waylaid and hacked him to death at Edayanchavadi at around 6 p.m.
On learning about the incident relatives of the deceased brought the body to Bommayarpalayam and blocked traffic on the East Coast Road demanding the arrest of the assailants. Police retrieved the body and sent it for post-mortem to the Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences at Kalapet in Puducherry.