A 45-year-old man was hacked to death by unidentified motorbike-borne assailants in Manjakuppam, Cuddalore district, on Tuesday. The victim was identified as J. Mathiazhagan, husband of Shanthi, 40, president of the Gundu Uppalavadi panchayat. The incident took place around 9 a.m.
Police said Mathiazhagan was walking home after offering worship at a temple in Manjakuppam, when a six-member gang on motorcycles waylaid him. In a bid to escape, Mathiazhagan ran towards his house. However, the gang chased him, and hacked him to death. The body bore multiple injuries and the face had been scarred beyond recognition, police said.
On receiving information, the police rushed to the spot and sent the body for a post-mortem examination.
Police suspect that previous rivalry, spilled over from the local body elections, is the reason behind the murder. The victim’s wife Shanthi, and former president of Gundu Uppalavadi panchayat Masilamani had contested for the post of Panchayat president in the local body elections, and Shanthi was declared the winner.
The rivalry between the two groups had continued even after the elections, and a gang had murdered Masilamani’s brother Madivanan in Thazhanguda in 2020. Mathiazhagan was the main accused in that murder and he was subsequently detained under the Goondas Act, police said.
The police have registered a case and a re investigating.
