Chennai Police said on Thursday that a lawyer was murdered in Kancheepuram district over a dispute on Facebook.

On Wednesday night, a gang of five men allegedly hacked to death M Chandrasekar in front of his house in Vellaikulam, around 90km from Chennai, according to a report by A Selvaraj in The Times of India.

An investigating officer said that Assistant Superintendent of Police N Shreenatha along with his team have nabbed the culprits, but it is not clear how many have been detained.

The officer added that a local thug in Kancheepuram is believed to have masterminded the murder.

There was an argument between Chandrasekar, who is also a DMK worker and a repeat offender Thaniga and his brother over local body polls, the report states.

After checking Chandrasekar’s FB account, investigators found derogatory posts and comments about some anti-social elements. Enraged over this, it is suspected that Thaniga and his brother employed hitmen to eliminate Chandrasekar.

“A preliminary probe revealed that Chandrasekar received an anonymous call on his cellphone on Wednesday night, following which he rushed out of his house and headed towards Upperikulam Salai, near his house, on his motorcycle,” the officer said.

“When a five-member gang on three motorbikes cornered Chandrasekar on the road, he abandoned his two-wheeler and tried to flee on foot. But the gang chased him down and hacked him with knives and sickles.”

Chandrasekar’s body has been sent to Kancheepuram Governement Hospital for post-mortem.