Chennai: Three men were brutally murdered by an eight-member gang in full public view near their residential area in Gummidipoondi on Saturday night, the police said.
Past enmity could be the motive, since two of the dead were involved in a murder a year ago, the police said, adding that a search was on for the assailants.
The police said, R. Aakash, 18, a resident of Ma Po Si Nagar at Gummidipoondi, was a polytechnic college drop-out. On Saturday night, Aakash and S. Vimal, 21, from Thirukulam street in Gummidipoondi and S. Sathish, 26, from Thideer Nagar in Tondiarpet, were walking towards Aakash's Ma Po Si Nagar home.
Around 8 pm, when the three were near their house, an eight-member gang, their faces covered, charged at them with knives and iron rods.
Eyewitnesses said the three men tried to flee, but the gang chased and stabbed them, killing them on the spot. Residents then alerted the police.
The Gummidipoondi SIPCOT police registered a case and sent the bodies to the Ponneri government hospital for post-mortem.
Preliminary investigations show that Vimal and Sathish were involved in the murder of Shahjahan on January 8 last year.
"We suspect they were murdered to avenge that murder. Five special teams have been formed to nab the suspects," said the police officer. Further investigations are on.
