(Online Desk)

It was around 12.30 pm. An armed gang chased and hacked to death a man in broad daylight on a busy street at Mannady in Chennai on Wednesday.

The victim, J Vijayakumar, was in fact, reportedly facing several criminal cases. He said to be returning after appearing in court when he was intercepted by the gang.

A CCTV recording of the incident shows Vijayakumar running for his life in a narrow pedestrian pathway and stumbling down. Even as he entered a house in the hope of saving himself, the gang entered with arms and emerged within 30 seconds. Police said by the time they reached the spot, Vijayakumar was already dead.

Police said, Vijayakumar had appeared before a magistrate court in Georgetown court complex in connection with a pending case and was returning home when the gang attacked him.

“Viji (Vijayakymar) was in Pavalathar street in Mannady, when the six-member gang intercepted him and picked up a fight. They attacked with machetes, hacked him to death and managed to escape. The incident got recorded by a CCTV at a shop on the street,” said a police officer.

The CCTV footage shows men clad in red, white and blue shirts attacking Viji with machetes. One of the men clad in a red shirt was also wearing a helmet. He is believed to be the gang-leader and prime suspect in the case.

The footage recorded the victim running on the pedestrian pathway trying to escape when he stumbled and fell and was attacked repeatedly. Viji managed to enter into a house but the gang followed him in and hacked him to death. The gang managed to execute the plan in just 30 seconds.

The public who witnessed the incident alerted the Muthialpet police station. Policemen rushed to the spot and found Vijayakumar having bled to death. His body was sent to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital for autopsy.

Police suspect previous enmity between the groups to be the reason for the murder.