Tension prevailed at Vaithikuppam and surrounding areas here on Tuesday after a village elder was murdered near Ambur Salai by unknown assailants on Monday night.
According to Senior Superintendent of Police (Law and Order) V.J. Chandran, Thambidurai (52), who had a lot of influence within the decision making body in the village panchayat, was driving his motorcycle on Ambur Salai on Monday night when unknown assailants attacked him with deadly weapons.
Before the people nearby could reach the spot to help Thambidurai, the attackers fled the scene. The victim was then rushed to the nearby hospital where he was declared as “brought dead.”
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Mr. Chandran said that the investigation would look into whether the incident was an act of vengeance by people, who were unhappy with several decisions that Thambidurai influenced in the local panchayat.
The police have registered a case and are on the lookout for persons who committed the crime, Mr. Chandran said. A strong contingent of police force was also deployed at Vaithikuppam to avert any untoward incident.
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Meanwhile, in a separate incident that sparked anxiety among locals, unknown persons entered a bar and threw country-made bombs at two history-sheeters, who were immediately rushed to the hospital.
According to police, Ayyappan and Pachaiappan, belonging to the same group and who had cases of murder registered against them, were meeting at a bar on Therese Street near Anna Salai when unknown persons entered the premises and threw country bombs at them.
Ayyapan was severely injured in the explosion and rushed to a nearby hospital. Mr. Chandran said that his condition was stable. Dog squads were pressed into service to comb the place where the incident took place.
The police said that the episode was the result of a gang rivalry and they were in the process of identifying the persons, who attacked the two.