Four More Held in Besant Nagar TVK Functionary Murder Case
Four more persons, including three minors, were arrested on Tuesday in connection with the murder of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam functionary S Kannan at Vannandurai in Besant Nagar. With these latest detentions, the total number of people arrested in the homicide case has risen to nine.
According to the Shastri Nagar police, the four detainees were allegedly part of the gang involved in the deadly assault and were present at the scene of the crime. Their apprehension follows the earlier arrest of five men on Sunday.
Those apprehended on Tuesday have been identified as 26-year-old Sathish, who is unemployed, alongside three juveniles. Among the three minors, one is a college student, another is employed at a private company, and the third is unemployed. Investigators stated that all four individuals are friends of the prime suspect, V Bharani, who was taken into custody on Sunday.
Police suspect that the killing was an act of retaliatory revenge linked to the 2009 murder of Bharani’s uncle, Siva alias Sivakumar, in Adyar. Kannan and his associates were previously arrested in connection with that earlier homicide, which investigators at the time had attributed to a personal dispute involving a woman.
The victim, 45-year-old Kannan, was classified as a B-category history-sheeter who had at least three criminal cases registered against him. He had formerly served as the AIADMK Ward 174 (South) secretary before leaving the party to join the TVK following the Assembly election. In addition to his political involvement, Kannan operated a travel business that supplied transport cabs to information technology companies.
The attack occurred around 9:30 pm on Saturday while Kannan was standing and speaking with friends at Vannandurai. A gang armed with sickles and knives arrived at the spot on motorcycles. Although Kannan attempted to flee the attackers, he was pursued and hacked to death. The assailants also allegedly threatened his friends when they attempted to intervene during the assault.
