The personal secretary of Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi chief Thol Thirumavalavan was hacked to death by a five-member gang in Madipakkam, Chennai on Wednesday. At around 7:20 a.m, when S. Vetriselvan arrived at Raghava Nagar to go to his real estate office, the gang surrounded his car and broke the windshield. When forced out of the car, Vetriselvan ran towards the outlet of a catering service for refuge, but he could not save himself. They chased him down and assaulted him repeatedly with sickles, reports The Times of India. The local residents alerted an ambulance and rushed the heavily bleeding Vetriselvan to a private clinic where he died moments after being admitted. Meanwhile, a black car was found suspiciously parked in Alandur and the residents alerted the police. The Madipakkam police seized the vehicle which had a flat tyre in the front and they have ascertained that it was the same vehicle used by his assailants to escape, reports The New Indian Express. Police told The Times of India that their preliminary investigations have revealed that there was a property dispute over a plot of land in Kanathur between Vetriselvan and his brother's son Jeganathan. They suspect this was the motive behind the murder. Vetriselvan had a daily morning routine that the gang seems to have observed. He would visit his real estate office and a gym he owns in the same building every Wednesday. Sources in VCK told TOI that Vetriselvan and Thirumavalavan were very close. Thirumavalavan went to Vetriselvan's house in the evening and paid homage. After the murder took place, many members of the VCK protested and went on to damage shops on Madipakkam Koot Road.