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Murder case accused assaulted near Tamil Nadu court

The victim, identified as Lokesh, 32, along with his friend, was present in the Chengalpattu court premises when the attackers on motorcycles threw country bombs at them, police said.

Updated on: Jul 7, 2023, 24:28:45 IST
By , Chennai
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An accused in a murder case was attacked with machetes and country bombs by a group of five men when he appeared at the Chengalpattu court on Thursday, and is currently on ventilator support, police said.

A murder accused was attacked with machetes and country bombs by five men when he appeared at the Chengalpattu court (Agencies/Representative use)
A murder accused was attacked with machetes and country bombs by five men when he appeared at the Chengalpattu court (Agencies/Representative use)

The victim, identified as Lokesh, 32, along with his friend, was present in the court premises when the attackers on motorcycles threw country bombs at them, police said.

Despite missing the target, the assailants chased Lokesh and his friend, with Lokesh being subjected to a vicious assault using machetes, they added.

Visuals and photographs captured the severity of the attack, showing Lokesh with multiple head injuries and profuse bleeding. The gruesome incident unfolded in full view of the public.

According to a senior police officer, by the time the police posted in the court rushed to the spot, the gang had fled, and they found Lokesh lying in a pool of blood.

“We suspect that they attempted to murder him in retaliation for the murder of their friend back in 2015. That case was registered in the Tambaram Commissionerate,” said the senior police officer in Chengalpattu. Tambaram and Chengalpattu adjoin Chennai.

Lokesh was scheduled to attend a hearing related to the 2015 murder case. As of now, no arrests have been made in connection with the attack, police said.

“Lokesh has been admitted to Chengalpattu government hospital, where he is in critical condition and receiving ventilator support in the ICU. Fortunately, Lokesh’s friend escaped unharmed during the incident. Police are currently examining CCTV footage from the court premises as part of their investigation,” the above-cited officer said.

This incident follows a similar incident earlier this year in February when an unidentified gang publicly murdered a 24-year-old man near the Coimbatore district court campus.

The victim, S Gokul, was wanted in a murder case from 2021. He and his friend Manoj were attending a hearing in the combined court complex in Gopalapuram when they were attacked. In both cases, the police attributed the motives to previous enmity.

  • Divya Chandrababu
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Divya Chandrababu

    Divya Chandrababu is an award-winning political and human rights journalist based in Chennai, India. Divya is presently Assistant Editor of the Hindustan Times where she covers Tamil Nadu & Puducherry. She started her career as a broadcast journalist at NDTV-Hindu where she anchored and wrote prime time news bulletins. Later, she covered politics, development, mental health, child and disability rights for The Times of India. Divya has been a journalism fellow for several programs including the Asia Journalism Fellowship at Singapore and the KAS Media Asia- The Caravan for narrative journalism. Divya has a master's in politics and international studies from the University of Warwick, UK. As an independent journalist Divya has written for Indian and foreign publications on domestic and international affairs.Read More

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