Tirunelveli (Tamil Nadu), Dec 20 (PTI) A 25-year-old man allegedly involved in a murder case was hacked to death by a four-member gang near the gate of the Tirunelveli district court campus here, police said on Friday.

Police said S Mayandi alias Palla Mayandi was brought to be produced before the Principal Sessions Judge when the gang attacked him. In a frantic bid to escape, Mayandi ran towards the court entrance but was surrounded by the four men who hacked him to death.

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The police posted at the court and a few advocates managed to overpower one of the men. Later, three others were secured, the police said.

The incident led to tense moments at the court. A group of advocates staged a protest demanding enhanced police security on the court premises.

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Police suspect that Mayandi's murder was a retaliatory measure by the gang over the murder of a scheduled caste panchayat ward member in 2023. Mayandi who was one of the accused in the murder case was arrested by the police and later let on bail.

Meanwhile, State Law Minister S Regupathy said in a post on social media platform 'X' that the police acted promptly in the case and arrested all four within two hours after the murder accused was done to death.

Responding to AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami's criticism that the law and order in the state deteriorated, Regupathy said Palaniswami and other opposition party leaders were unable to digest the swift police action in the incident and were hence attempting to tarnish the state government's image.

Taking suo motu cognizance, the Madras High Court has directed the state police to beef up security at all district courts.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)