A 45-year-old Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) functionary was chased and hacked to death by a motorcycle-borne gang at Vannandurai in Chennai’s Besant Nagar on Saturday (5 September 2026) night, raising fresh questions over law and order under the Joseph Vijay-led TVK government, as reported in The New Indian Express.
The deceased, S Kannan of Shastri Nagar, was a B-category history-sheeter with at least three criminal cases against him. He had previously served as AIADMK Ward 174 (South) secretary before joining TVK after the Assembly election. Kannan also ran a travel business and supplied cabs to IT companies, police said.
Police arrested five men: Bharani, Rakesh, Naresh, Manikandan and Hariharan on Sunday. All five, who are around 20 years old, are from Chennai.
According to police, the primary line of investigation points to a revenge motive linked to a 2009 murder in Adyar. Kannan was an accused in the murder of Siva alias Sivakumar. Police suspect that Bharani, identified as Siva’s nephew, and the other accused attacked Kannan in retaliation.
The 2009 murder was reportedly linked to a personal dispute involving a woman.
On Saturday around 9.30 pm, Kannan was talking with friends at Vannandurai when the gang arrived on three motorcycles armed with sickles and knives. Police said Kannan attempted to flee but was chased and hacked to death.
His friends allegedly tried to intervene but were threatened with knives. The attackers then fled the scene.
Five people arrested by the police in connection with the murder. Preliminary investigations indicate that it was a revenge killing. https://t.co/EzmVX78hCy
— Vignesh Theni (@Vignesh_twitz) September 6, 2026
Police sent Kannan’s body to Government Royapettah Hospital for postmortem and examined CCTV footage from the locality as part of the investigation.
Following the killing, Kannan’s relatives staged a protest demanding immediate action. They dispersed after senior police officers assured them that the assailants would be arrested.
The murder has also triggered political criticism of the TVK government. Leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin condemned the killing and questioned the government’s claims on improving law and order.
BJP state president Nainar Nagenthran also condemned the murder, pointing out that even a ruling-party functionary was not safe in the state capital. He urged the government to take concrete steps to address the deteriorating law-and-order situation.
ஆளுங்கட்சியினருக்கே பாதுகாப்பில்லாத அவல ஆட்சி!
நேற்றிரவு சென்னை அடையாறு அருகே, தவெக நிர்வாகியான கண்ணன் என்பவர் ஓட ஓட விரட்டிப் படுகொலை செய்யப்பட்ட சம்பவத்தின் காணொளி வெளியாகி கடும் அதிர்ச்சியை ஏற்படுத்தியுள்ளது. தலைநகரின் பொதுவெளியிலேயே இப்படி ஒரு கொடூரம் நடக்கிறது என்றால்,… pic.twitter.com/c6X96tcWGr
— Nainar Nagenthran (@NainarBJP) September 6, 2026
The incident has further embarrassed the TVK government as Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay is scheduled to respond to the Assembly debate on the demands for grants for the police department.
Meanwhile, Adyar Deputy Commissioner A C Karthikeyan and Shastri Nagar Inspector (Law and Order) Rohini were transferred to vacancy reserve on Sunday evening following the incident.
While police continue to investigate the revenge angle, they have said that other possible motives are also being examined.
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