CHENNAI: Two men were killed in separate drunken brawl assaults in T. Nagar that occurred within hours of each other. The Mambalam police arrested two suspects.In the first incident, Rajendran, 50, a housekeeping worker at Vijaya Mahal wedding hall and a resident of Kannammapet in T. Nagar, was found unconscious with bleeding injuries on Thyagaraya Road late on Wednesday night. An 108 ambulance team rushed the injured to the ESI Govt Hospital in KK Nagar, but he was declared dead. His body was sent for a post-mortem examination, which confirmed that he died due to assault injuries.Police examined CCTV footage from the area and identified the accused as Balaji, an auto-rickshaw driver from the neighbourhood. The investigation revealed that Rajendran and Balaji consumed alcohol together near Pondy Bazaar before an argument broke out. After the quarrel, Balaji chased Rajendran as he walked home and assaulted him. He fled the scene after the attack. Police later tracked him down, arrested him and are continuing the investigation.In the second incident, Ravi Kumar, 46, a native of Visakhapatnam district in Andhra Pradesh, died after being assaulted in the parking area behind Vijaya Mahal wedding hall on Thyagaraya Road. Ravi Kumar worked as a supervisor responsible for deploying labourers to clean the dining hall after wedding receptions.He was found lying unconscious with a severe head injury on Wednesday night. Inspector Vijayakanth of the Mambalam Police Station and his team shifted him to the Govt Royapettah Hospital, where he was admitted to the intensive care unit. He succumbed to injuries around 3.50 am on Thursday.Based on a complaint lodged by Kannan, the wedding hall supervisor, the Mambalam police registered a murder case.Police identified the prime suspect as Mani, alias Sornakumar, 65, a native of Nagercoil in Kanyakumari district, who was working as a cleaner at the wedding hall for the past six months. During interrogation, Mani confessed that he attacked Ravi Kumar with a wooden log while under the influence of alcohol because he was hateful over being repeatedly reprimanded about his work.Mani was taken into police custody for further interrogation. Police are also questioning two security guards, Lakshmanan and Ramesh, as part of the investigation.
