A 24-year-old man who worked as a house painter was thrashed to death at the Pallavaram railway station in Chennai by a gang when he tried to save a woman from being raped at 9:30 pm on Monday.

Police officials said that John Shanthakumar was rushing to get his last local train when he saw a gang molesting a fruit vendor who was breast-feeding her child.

A local source told The New Indian Express, “The gang ripped the clothes off the woman and none of the passengers came to help the woman. John tried to stop it when the gang overpowered him and dragged him across the tracks to a remote spot.”

While the woman escaped, the gang dragged him to a bushy area, thrashed him and stabbed him to death.  

However, few passengers called the police control room but by the time police reached the spot, the gang had escaped and John was found dead.

Railways DSP V Ponramu said that the gang tried to hold the woman’s hand and John intervened and was stabbed in anger. But later it was found that the same gang had robbed Srimalu (30), another house painter of Rs 5,000 before attacking the woman, according to TNIE.

Police told the The Times of India that they have identified the suspects in which one is Karthi from Chetpet. The rest will be arrested in few days, say police.