Suspects in public hacking identified using CCTV footage

The Tiruvallur district police has identified four accused who hacked a volleyball coach to death in public on Friday in Tiruttani.

The police said the deceased was Mahesh, 30, of Perumalpattu village. While he was walking near the block development office, Tiruttani, at 2.30 p.m., four men in a car waylaid him. When he ran, the suspects gave a chase, brandishing weapons.

In an attempt to save himself, Mahesh ran into a restaurant, but the men cornered and hacked him to death. CCTV camera footage from the building provided clear evidence of those involved. The attackers left the restaurant after confirming he was dead. The police, who arrived on the scene later, rushed Mahesh to the Government General Hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead. The footage of the murder went viral on social media.

According to the police, one of the assailants was identified as Vimal alias Japan, who lived in a nearby village. The victim, Mahesh, and Vimal had previous animosity over organising a volleyball match. Paul Dinakaran, Vicky alias Vignesh, Mahesh and Zahir Hussain were friends, but quarrelled among themselves over the conduct of a volleyball match in 2013. Then, Mahesh and his associates attacked the houses of Vimal and his associate, claiming they were responsible for the match’s cancellation.

In retaliation, Vimal and his men attacked Paul Dinakaran and Zahir Hussain who managed to survive. However, another associate, Vicky, was hacked to death by Vimal last February. Mahesh was cited as witness in three criminal cases.

The feud continued and Mahesh and his friends attacked Vimal last month. Vimal, who was injured in the attack, was admitted to a hospital. After treatment, he was bent on taking revenge and attacked Mahesh as he was returning from court on Friday.