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Ganja turf war leaves 3 dead in Chennai

The incident happened about 400 metres away from the Kannagi Nagar police station.

Chennai: An ongoing turf war over peddling ganja in the city left three persons dead in Kannagi Nagar in south Chennai on Saturday night after two groups clashed with each other. What seemed to be a bid to establish supremacy in controlling areas to peddle narcotics, three men were hacked to death and another person was injured after the clash. The incident happened about 400 metres away from the Kannagi Nagar police station.

The deceased have been identified as Ranjith Kumar alias S Kalia alias Raj (22), T.Sebastian alias Miller (20) and Shaktivel (22). Sengotian (21), also a resident of Kannagi Nagar, was injured.

On Saturday evening, Ranjith, Sebastian, Shaktivel and two others were standing near the Councillor's office at around 9 pm, when a five-member gang headed by V.Datsha alias Tamil Arasan (20) reached the spot.

“A fight broke out and Ranjith was stabbed with a knife to his face, neck and hand and he died on the spot. While trying to escape, Sebastin reportedly fell into an open drain and Tamil's gang hacked him to death by smashing his head with a stone. Sengotian escaped with injuries, said a Ranjith family member.
Based on information, police rushed to the spot and shifted Sebastian to Rajiv Gandhi government general hospital, where he died on Sunday morning.

Ranjith's body was sent to Royapettah government hospital for post-mortem. The police arrested V.Jobita Mani alias Manimaran (23), V.Datsha alias Tamil Arasan (20) and A Tilana alias Arupataraj (23) of the same locality in connection with the murders.

However, Ranjith's mother Manjula claimed that her son was not part of any ganja peddling gang. "He left home around 8.30 pm and never returned. We were planning for his marriage," she said.

The tussle was not only over ganja selling, but the rivalry spilt into many other areas, including celebrations in temples and establishing supremacy in the locality. Of course, there has been a clash between the two gangs over selling ganja in each other's territory, police sources said.

Ranjith was a daily wage worker and is survived by his parents and two brothers. Sebastian, a painter, is survived by his wife and his two-month-old daughter. Heavy police deployment was seen in Kannagi Nagar following the Saturday night incidents.

( Source : Deccan Chronicle. )
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