5 held over 24-year-old man’s murder in Madurai

MADURAI: Five men were arrested for murdering a 24-year-old man during a drunken brawl on Thursday night near Karimedu in Madurai city.The deceased has been identified as M Rajapandi of Ponnagaram 1st Street, Karimedu. He was a driver. Police said that on Thursday night, Rajapandi and his friends, including Venkatesh, consumed liquor and were under the Madura Coats Bridge, New Jail Road. A dispute broke out between Rajapandi and P Manoj of Ponnagaram 4th Street, after Manoj and five others assaulted Venkatesh. Manoj and Rajapandi already had previous enmity. Subsequently, Manoj and his friends assaulted Rajapandi with a wooden log, bottle and stone. Rajapandi died of injuries on the spot. The Karimedu police registered a murder case against six people. Five accused, including Manoj and his friends, Sri Manikandan, 20, M Thangapandi, 19, M Ganesh, 20, and M Kannan, 23, were arrested.TNN