Chennai: Business rivalry between mobile phone accessories vendors on suburban electric trains led to a quartet ganging up and murdering a 28-year-old man near Gummidipoondi. The gang after murdering the man had buried him in a vacant plot along the railway track, police sources said.
The victim has been identified as Shah Jahan of Thiruvottiyur. He made a living by selling mobile phone accessories on suburban electric trains plying on Chennai-Gummidipoondi line.
He was staying with his family in Vivekananda Nagar in Gummidipoondi, police said. On January 8 , his family members filed a missing complaint after which police began investigations.
Preliminary investigations revealed that Shah Jahan used to have several run-ins with other vendors on trains over his dominating ways. Police picked up the other vendors and during investigations, found out that the gang murdered Shah Jahan and buried him near the railway tracks in Valliammal nagar there.
Police sources said that the quartet had invited Shah Jahan on the night of January 8 to talk out things when things got ugly. The four of them told investigators that Shah Jahan used to threaten and extort money from other vendors claiming that he was a rowdy and he controlled the business on trains on the stretch.
On Monday night, during the discussion, Shah Jahan had taken a knife and attempted to attack them. In retaliation they, rounded him up and murdered him with the same knife and buried him, police said.“We have written to the revenue officials to exhume the body. Further investigations will continue after that,” a police officer said.
