A local functionary of the TVK, which leads the coalition government in Tamil Nadu, was chased down a road and hacked to death by multiple assailants in Chennai.
Police have arrested at least five people in connection with the murder so far, officials said on Sunday.
The victim, identified as Kannan, was reportedly a B-category history-sheeter and was involved in at least three criminal cases, including two pertaining to murder.
The killing came ahead of Chief Minister and TVK founder C Joseph Vijay's Monday response to the Opposition's criticism of the law and order situation in the Assembly.
Or should we grieve thinking about how the TVK has become a garbage dump where all history-sheeter criminals seek refuge?"
A local functionary of the TVK, which leads the coalition government in Tamil Nadu, was chased down a road and hacked to death by multiple assailants in Chennai.
The incident took place on Saturday night. Police have arrested at least five people in connection with the murder so far, officials said on Sunday.
The victim, identified as Kannan, was reportedly a B-category history-sheeter and was involved in at least three criminal cases, including two pertaining to murder.
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The police have registered a case into the TVK worker's killing and seized CCTV footage from locations surrounding the crime scene as part of the investigation.
Footage of the murder shows multiple machete-wielding men attacking him on a street.
Kannan had also been involved in the real estate business after entering mainstream politics. He also ran a car rental business catering to IT firms.
PERSONAL ENMITY BEHIND MURDER?
Three special teams have been formed to investigate the case.
The five arrested persons were identified as Bharani, Rakesh, Naresh, Manikandan, and Hariharan. All five are aged 20, officials said.
Preliminary investigation suggested previous enmity as the likely motive, pointing to a revenge killing, police sources, cited by news agency PTI, said.
In 2009, Bharani's paternal uncle Siva was murdered by Kannan. Later, in 2016, Bharani's father was also murdered, police said.
Bharani conspired with his friends to kill Kannan over the previous killings, police said, adding that further investigation was underway.
DMK TARGETS VIJAY GOVT
The Leader of the Opposition in Tamil Nadu Assembly and former Deputy Chief Minister, Udhayanidhi Stalin, launched a scathing attack on the TVK-led government over the incident, criticising the state of law and order.
The killing came ahead of Chief Minister and TVK founder C Joseph Vijay's Monday response to the Opposition's criticism of the law and order situation in the Assembly.
"Before the Honourable Chief Minister delivers his response to the debate on the police department's grant demands tomorrow, one of his party's leaders has himself become a victim of murder in the capital... a history-sheeter criminal, who had joined the ruling TVK seeking protection for his life, has been chased and killed on the street while fleeing," Stalin said in a post on X (originally written in Tamil) on Sunday.
The DMK leader asserted that the TVK had become a refuge for history-sheeters.
Stalin asked, "Should we grieve thinking about how law and order has deteriorated to the extent that such a murder can happen right on the street in the capital? Or should we grieve thinking about how the TVK has become a garbage dump where all history-sheeter criminals seek refuge?"
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He further said that the TVK-led government should stop contemplating "how to blame the DMK for this" and instead take measures to ensure the safety of the public.
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(With inputs from PTI)
