In an apparent act of vengeance, a five-member gang hacked two persons to death after hurling country bomb here on Tuesday evening.
S. Karthik, 26, a notorious criminal, was detained under the Goondas Act and was recently released on bail. He was returning with his friend Vicky alias ‘Gundu’ Vicky, 28, after signing at the Kenikarai police station as part of the bail condition, when the assailants waylaid them and hacked them to death.
After hurling a country bomb, the gang members hacked Karthik to death, the police said. When Vicky took to his heels, they chased and hacked him near the DIG camp office.
In less than an hour after the incident, five people surrendered before the police at Nainarkoil police station, claiming responsibility for the double murder. The police identified them as M. Baskaran, 40, C. Murugesan, 37, R. Ruban, 25, A. Arjun, 25, and P. Murali, 26.
Karthik, facing 36 cases, including of murder, attempt to murder, robbery and drug trafficking, was arrested in connection with the ‘Valantharavai double murder’ case. He and his brother S. Dharma, 34, were among the 21 accused, arrested in connection with the case.
The siblings and 12 others were detained under the Goondas Act but the detention orders of all the 14 accused were quashed by the Madurai bench of Madras High Court in July. Karthik came out on bail and was re-arrested in connection with an ‘attempt to murder’ case on September 10. It was in this case that the local court granted him bail on condition that he should sign twice a week at the Kenikarai police station.