Chennai: 'Kutti' Venkitesan (54), Sriperumbudur panchayat union chairman, was hacked to death in full public view off the Chennai - Bengaluru highway near Sunguvachatram in neighbouring Kancheepuram district on Wednesday by six men riding three bikes. He was the prime suspect in the murder of panchayat councilor and film producer Kumaran in October 2012.
Venkitesan was in the AIADMK when he was elected in 2011, but shifted his loyalty to BJP after he was removed from AIADMK because of his criminal activities. A resident of Mannur village, Venkitesan on Wednesday was walking from his vehicle to a mechanic shop in Sunguvachatram at around 11.30 am, when six mercenaries on 3 bikes surrounded him.
Though he tried to escape by running away, the gang members, armed with sickles, chased him and scythed him to death. After killing Venkitesan, the gang members coolly cleaned their sickles on the spot before speeding away on their bikes.
A police team which arrived later on the spot shifted the body to Kancheepuram government general hospital for post mortem. After inspecting the scene and gathering information on the killing, the police said the killers were possibly hired by someone who wanted to settle scores with Venkitesan, who was involved in numerous crimes, including murder, holding kangaroo courts and extortion.
Venkitesan was arrested for the murder of Kumaran in 2012. Police on Wednesday indicated that the murder of 'Kutti' Venkitesan was not political but a revenge murder. He was into real estate and metal scrap business and had operated in Sriperumbudur industrial area as a mafia boss.
