BJP man hacked to death in public on Chennai outskirts

CHENNAI: The Valarpuram panchayat president and BJP SC/ST wing state treasurer, P P G D Shankar, was chased and hacked to death in full public view on the crowded Chennai-Bengaluru highway at Nazarathpet on Thursday night.
Police said it was a fallout of the ongoing turf war over the iron scrap business in the Sriperumbudur industrial cluster. Shankar’s elder brother Kumaran too had been killed by a gang in 2012 over the same issue.
Police said Shankar was driving back from a marriage function at Kolathur when the gang struck as his car was stuck in traffic on the highway at Naz arethpet junction around 9. 30 pm. One of the assailants hurled acountry bomb at the front passenger seat that Shankar usually occupied. Two more bombs were also hurled, one if which hit the radiator and damaged the front of the vehicle. Police said Shankar, who was in the driver’s seat, pulled out a knife and escaped from the vehicle.
The assailants ch ased and hacked S hankar down as road-users looked in shock. They left him in a pool of blood and fled. Many traders downed their shutters in panic.
Based on Shankar’s wife Vijayalakshmi's complaint, the Nazarethpet pol ice registered a murder case and formed nine special teams to trace the assailants. However, on Friday morning nine people – Sriperumbudur town panchayat independent councillor Santhaku mar, R Jegan, S Guna, M Sarathkumar, K Anandh, another Santhakumar, E Sanju, R Udhayakumar and A Dinesh – surrendered before the 13th metropolitan magistrate court at Egmore. The magistrate reman ded them in judicial custody after informing the Nazarethpet police.
Police said preliminary inquiries revealed thatShankar was killed over the iron scrap business, which is worth ₹20 crore annu ally as hundreds of tonnes are transported every month from the car manufacturers in Sriperumbudur and Sunguvarchathiram areas.
In 2022, the Enforcement Directorate had provisionally attached benami immovable properties worth ₹25 crore belonging to Shankar against whom 15 FIRs and three chargesheets have been filed by the Tamil Nadu Police in connection with a money La undering case (PMLA).
About nine months ago, the Kancheepuram police had arrested five men who were allegedly making country bombs to eliminate Shankar. Police said Shankar was involved in 15 cases including fou r murder and six attempted murder cases. The Sriperumbudur police have registered him as an A+ category rowdy in their ledger.
In a tweet BJP state president K Annamalai condemned the murder and the state of law and order in the state.