In a gruesome incident borne out of intense gang rivalry, a 35-year-old man was murdered and his leg chopped off in the presence of his children near Pothencode on Saturday.
Sudheesh who hailed from Lakshamveedu Colony in Chembakamangalam, near Kalloor, was murdered by a gang of 12 assailants who came in two motorcycles and an auto-rickshaw around noon.
The victim, who was apparently absconding after an alleged murder attempt, dashed to his house on seeing the gang approaching him. However, the gang barged into his house and hacked him using swords before chopping one of his legs off. The brutal attack unfolded as his family looked on, the Pothencode police said.
A CCTV footage recovered from the vicinity showed the perpetrators hurling the chopped limb nearly 500 metres away from the scene of crime as they sped away. They also created a scene of terror by hurling country bombs and wielding weapons as they threatened the other local residents.
Despite being rushed to the Thiruvananthapuram Government Medical College Hospital, Sudheesh’s life could not be saved. Lending credence to the police’s claim that the murder is linked to a gang rivalry in the region, the victim reportedly told the police en route the hospital that he was attacked by a group led by notorious criminal ‘Ottakam’ Suresh.
Sudheesh, who was involved in cases registered at the Mangalapuram and Attingal police stations, was wanted for his role in a recent murder attempt at Attingal. Four persons including his brother was arrested in the case.
Senior officials including Deputy Inspector General of Police, Thiruvananthapuram Range, Sanjaykumar Gurudin, and District Police Chief (Thiruvananthapuram Rural) P.K. Madhu, visited the area and took stock of the situation.
